Another time line (2015)
by Umbra Nigra
Summary: But will it finally be the last?
1. Day 1

"Ah, I almost forgot!" Kazuko-Sensei giggled sheepishly like a school girl, instead of the teacher she was. "We have two new students today!"

"She left the most important part for the end?!" Sayaka exclaimed to herself. There were going to be two transferred students to Mitakihara School, and the teacher had already wasted half an hour of the class to rant about her former boyfriend and teach how to properly cook an egg.

Madoka just sweatdropped awkwardly and shyly, but then, her gaze changed from shame to curiosity when she saw the two girls entering the class.  
The first one was a tall, extremely pale girl, with long, silky black hair. Her purple eyes were cold, as if caring no longer about everything around her, as if they had lost all the shine and hope there could have been inside them.  
The second one, scarcely shorter, had red, messy hair, long as well but tied in a ponytail with a black ribbon. Her skin was slightly tanned, and her red eyes didn't care as well, but showed more energy. Clearely a rebel girl, eating a pocky in class, showing no respect with her behaviour.  
That was odd... Last night, the pinkette just dreamed about that stoic ebony she had never seen before, and now, she was transferring to her school, and concretely, to her class.

"So..." The teacher recovered her composture, but still talked with an annoying, high-pitched voice. "...feel free to introduce yourselves!"

The two teenagers looked at each other. No words were needed, they just made a small nod, and the raven-haired looked at the class with her darkened, intense stare. "My name is Homura Akemi." Her voice was sweet, beautiful, but so emotionless it just gave an accent to her freezing and shady behaviour. "A pleasure to meet you all." Half the class could bet she did not mean that last sentence. At least, she was polite.  
"Kyoko Sakura." The red head blurted out, carelessly. "Nice to meet cha." Another hypocrite, perhaps? Though, she sounded rather amused, as if it was the first time she ever attended a school.

Madoka's heart then started beating faster. She could not tell why, until she realised the ebony was staring deeply into her eyes. She quickly looked away, a blush starting to stain her cheeks.

The teacher wrote the newbies' names in the white board, obviously showing she had not payed attention to the introduction. From one to three mistakes were spotted in her handwritten words. Kyoko started to chuckle, miraculously keeping the pocky between her teeth, as Homura sternly took the pen from the teacher's hand and corrected the names. The class was astonished.

"Uh... Well... You may sit in those two free tables." The teacher said, trying not to show her wounded pride. Silently, the girls obeyed after what seemed a scoff from Kyoko.

.

Classes passed swiftly, even though they were as boring as usual. The routine of always. Nothing new at all.

The two new girls were in the roof, sitting. Homura was politely eating a _bento_ , and Kyoko was gubbling up some junk food she stole.

"Do you keep stealing food from who-knows-where?" Homura asked, not too loudly. Noone would see them in the roof, but they didn't want to be heard. From there, they could see the whole school, including everything around the building like the terrace, the playground, the P.E. circuits, etc.

"I've gotten used tho." Kyoko said after swallowing a hamburger, not even chewing. "I didn't know it ain't ok."

"You knew." Homura replied. "I have told you countless times."

"I didn't know before ya told meh." She kept eating.

"Just... Stop doing it." Wind almost blinded them with their own hairs. When they managed to uncover their view, they saw Madoka and Sayaka, sitting in the terrace, talking as they ate their _bentos_.

"Those be da gurls ya told me 'bout. Wanna listen to 'em?"

"...I wouldn't like to invade their privacy. Besides, the Incubator hasn't stepped in their paths... yet."

"Ah, ya mean QB." Kyoko grinned. "Ya haven't told meh what ya did tho 'im." She said. Of course, she waited for an answer, and Homura gave it to her, after a short silence.

"I locked him in an iron box."

"And?" Kyoko wanted to know more.

"And I buried it below the ocean." She looked at the sky, keeping the now empty box where her food had been. "He'll starve to death... Between one and two weeks."

"Ha! We now have time to kill witches before he comes tho annoy us!" She took another bite of another random peace of junk food, and swallowed it in a millisecond. "But... Ya did it... Fo' her, right?" She pointed at Madoka, who was now innocently giggling at something Sayaka said.

Homura sighed, looking downwards. Since Kyoko was like a sister to her, she had made the decision to tell her the truth about her wish, about time lines, and had done so some days ago. Kyoko was tough, rude, apparently simple, but deep inside her heart she was able to understand things. Just like Homura, she had been a sensitive girl in a past, now situated far away. Homura knew and understood Kyoko as well. In all those time lines, she had grown to appreciate that stubborn and impulsive red head. They had small fights and arguments, nothing unexpected due to their personalities, but they were like a team.

"Just dun't get yarself killed for humans, sistah." Kyoko said, with an apparently mocking voice. "I know ya can do anything for da gurl with da pink hairdo... Madoka, ain't she called dat? Well, do whatever ya want, but dun't get into trouble. I ain't here to save ya purple ass every time."

Homura glared at Kyoko, with narrowed eyes. She felt emotional, sad, touched and annoyed at the same time. Her feelings were always very intense when Madoka was the topic of the conversation, but whatever she felt, she never showed it. "As far as I know... I am the one who has to put you out of trouble most of the times."

Kyoko almost chocked. She violently coughed, but once she spat the chewed food that had blocked her breathing pipe, she started to chuckle. "'Kay, 'kay!" And then, she looked into the raven-haired's eyes, being the only one able to hold her gaze, unblinking. "But ya're the, oh, so sensitive gurl who luvs that weakling." She made a toothy smile.

Homura looked down again. "She is physically weak, but emotionally uncorruptible and caring. Too kind for her own good. There is no major strenght than that." Homura sounded rather bitter when she said that, but truly meant it, and she knew her tone would not emotionally affect her 'sister'. She then sighed one more time, and then, as if someone were going to listen to them, she showed her shyness, changing to a language only Kyoko would understand, a language from the other side of the earth. "L'estimo... I ella ni tant sols em coneix." After whispering those words in Catalan, she became the stoic girl she always was. It was impossible to recognize that the one who had said that was the same ebony she always showed she was. The red-haired's smile became softer, still mocking, but showing some kind of understanding. "Life be sad, but we be strong females." She then chuckled again, and went back to her important business of eating as much as she could, before the bell rang and they had to go back to class.

.

How had Madoka gotten there inside? She didn't know. All she knew was that she had been having tea with Sayaka and Hitomi, then followed the bluonette as she bought some CDs for Kamijou, who was in the hospital after an accident, and then, she said goodbye and started walking towards her home, the moon already ruling the darkened sky of night, stars all over it. But why was everything now so surreal? It was some kind of a labyrinth, as if it were built by a dream. No... A nightmare. The 'Gernika', the fancy picture of Picasso was now the design that covered all the ground, and the walls seemed like made of one of Vincent van Gogh's pictures. There was a giant building, with a strange writing in some runes she had never seen before. Hand-drawn antropomorphic beings started walking and stumbling towards her. The pinkette understood nothing. She hadn't had the time to process it all. All she knew was that she was deadly afraid, and as one of those figures tightly grabbed her wrist, she thought she was gong to be killed, wincing in pain. "L-let me go..." She begged, her usually high-pitched, not annoying like the teacher's, but sweet and innocent voice stuck in her throat. She shot her eyes closed, and was surprised when she was thrown back to the ground. She yelped in pain and opened her eyes, only to see that the creature who had grabbed her was now fading in the ground. Someone had killed it. More walked to her, and the sound of a gun echoed in such horrid silence, killing them too. Then, in front of her, was someone else.

Blowing the smoke from her gun and then throwing it away, there was a mysterious teenager, probably her age yet taller. She was so familiar... Of course, that was one of the transferred students, the ice-queen Homura Akemi, who had amazed them all with her skills at every single subject, and yet scared them all with her threatening being. But now, she was dressed in an odd way, like the magical girls from the Animes. What was going on in there?

Madoka pinched the skin in the back of her right hand, and it hurt. It was not a dream after all nor a nightmare, but she had never been in that situation before, and neither the people she knew.

Homura barely looked back at her before shooting a misile against that giant building. Suddenly, that space that had seemingly come from a hallucination faded, and they were back in reality, though the ebony still had that enormous weapon in her hands, also still oddly dressed, and now, there was a strange object falling to the ground, slowly and lightly, like a feather would. The raven-haired picked it up, and Madoka could hear some whisper coming from her mouth, like "Izabel's grief seed...", but she didn't know if she had heard properly. She was dizzy, still unable to process it all, and yet, traumatized, for she had been about to be murdered by some being she didn't know. She felt small tears forming in her magenta eyes.

Homura turned to face her, slightly frowning, her gaze colder than ever. "How... And why did you put yourself there inside? What were you thinking about?" She never screamed, but was stern and harsh. The ebony's lecture was more than enough to make the pinkette's tears fall down her face.

"I... I d-didn't know... I... Don't know what... Happened.. I... I'm sorry..." She covered her eyes with her hands, shaking in fear.

Homura's stare softened. After all, Madoka had her reasons to be scared, and she shouldn't make things worse. Perhaps building a wall between them would save Madoka from her fate, but perhaps it would just approach her to the people who would make things worse, just like Mami Tomoe. That poor ignorant... She had been tricked by Kyubey, and her loneliness would make her show herself like a cool senior, accidentally tricking others too. Besides, distance didn't mean hate. After all, Madoka was everything to the ebony, and she would allow herself to show some kindness... Just a little bit maybe.

Her steps echoed on the floor as she approached the pinkette. She looked frail and defenseless, and that image almost broke the black-haired's heart. She searched in her pocket to find a tissue, and handed it to her. "Here." She said coldly as she offered it to Madoka, looking deeply into her watery eyes. She accepted it with a trembling hand, barely muttering a "Thank you" full of stutters before attempting to dry her tears, that did not stop shedding. Homura said nothing, just waited until the pinkette calmed down. How many minutes did it take? She didn't know, nor she cared. At the end, Madoka's sobbing progressively diminished, leaving only her shaky body, and those soft hiccups people always make after crying hard.

The ebony broke the silence. "Are you injured?" She asked, finding nothing better to say at that very first moment, or else, nothing to start talking about. The pinkette shook her head, slowly. How typical of Madoka, but Homura already knew her, and she took the arm where she had been grabbed, causing Madoka to slightly squeal at this in surprise. The smaller girl's wrist had a red mark, that would probably remain for some days. The taller girl never said a word. She took the purple diamond-shaped gem from the back of her left hand, and approached it to Madoka's arm. It shone, and the mark was gone, it being replaced by some faint darkness floating inside the jewel. Homura let go, and put the gem back into its place. The pinkette looked at her wrist, wordlessly, her eyes widened.

"Stand up." Homura said. "I'll bring you home."

The pinkette obeyed, hesitating a little, and still shaking a bit. The ebony said nothing, and started to walk towards Madoka's home, her clothes magically changing back to her school uniform. She seemed to already know the address. Madoka didn't dare ask a thing, she just silently and submissively followed, still holding her now uninjured wrist.

Once in front of the door of the building that was Madoka's home, Homura looked at her. "You are okay now." She said.

"B-b-but... What j-just happened...?" The shorter girl finally dared to ask.

"I'll tell you tomorrow. Go and rest." Madoka slowly opened the door when the ebony added. "If you want answers, search for me in the music classroom tomorrow, at break time." When the pinkette looked backwards to give an answer, the other girl was gone.

.

When Madoka came back home, her parents were already in bed, asleep. They trusted her enough to let her come late, if she didn't do it too often. In a note on the table, they said she had food in the fridge to be warmed if she wanted to have dinner before going to sleep. Madoka forced herself to eat, preparing herself for what would be an uneasy night, full of doubt, questions and fear.


	2. Day 2

The rising sun started to slowly illuminate her face, as she opened her eyes. Feeling her cheeks wet, she rubbed them to dry her tears. She had done it again...

Exhausted from a night of witch-hunting, she passed out in an alley, bleeding from wounds that were now closed.

Homura made her way towards her home. Her surroundings were all frozen, almost colourless, as she was the only one time was still running for. She would have to shower, get ready for shool and go. Nothing new to her, a routine she had gotten used to, but she would never accept the fact that she cried when she slept. It made her ashamed of herself. She should have gone home, so then no human would see her in her most vulnerable moment. Luckily, she didn't sleep much, but that night she hadn't been able to control her body, as it gave up to tiredness.

She would waste no magic; the deepest wounds were below her clothes, and there were only a few scratches in her face and hands. People would believe she had gotten into a fight. The rebel was her sister, but she was tough too, perhaps they would think her coldness put her into trouble, and she obviously won.

The ebony opened the door of her house. The swinging pendulum greeted her with its costant movement, but she didn't look at it, or at all the information about witches floating around her living-room. Nothing was going to distract her. She would just get ready and allow the time to run again.

.

"What's wrong, Madoka?" The green-haired bimbo asked her, with her smug voice. "You look so defeated."

"I-I'm okay, Hitomi..." The pinkette answered with a weak, but reassuring smile. She slept little last night, unable to forget the beings that almost murdered her, and the raven-haired ice-queen who saved her life.

 _"If you want answers, search for me in the music classroom tomorrow, at break time."_ She couldn't forget those last words of hers, before disappearing into the darkness, not even waiting for an answer. That girl made her uneasy, somehow scared her, perhaps because she had never seen someone so cold, someone who had seemingly given up the bright side of life. But she was alive because of her so, what if she digged deeper and found a kind heart inside those walls made of ice and shadows?

Madoka made the decision of going to that music room. She didn't even know it was opened during that hour, and yet Homura had been able to enter it. Everything was so odd...

"Madoka!" Sayaka's optimistic voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Are you really okay? You have not listened to me!" The bluonette made a childlish pout, she obviously was not angry.

"I'm sorry, I haven't slept very well last night..." She looked down, not noticing that Sayaka's pout was turning into a sly grin.

"Then I'll wake you up!" The blue-haired caught the pinkette by surprise, as she started tickling her from behind. Madoka's answer was a defenseless giggling attack. "S-staaph!" She could barely speak, as her eyes filled with small tears of laughter.

Hitomi noisily cleared her throat. "You'd better stop, you peasants! Everyone is looking at you! You are making me ashamed!"

.

Madoka furtively observed the class, as if analizing people's behaviour. To them, nothing had happened, everything still worked the same way. To her, everything was now confusing, not even paying attention to the teacher's explanation about new _kanjis_ as endless questions kept spinning around inside her innocent mind. Even Homura acted as if nothing had happened, concentrated on studying, and sometimes helping Kyoko with the lesson or telling her to keep her politically incorrect jokes for the break time.

Suddenly, lavender met magenta, and Madoka quickly looked away, blushing, realising she had been staring at the ebony too long. Homura's unexpressive eyes mooved back to the book, and the pinkette could not repress a sigh of relief.

At least she had good luck, for the teacher asked nothing to her this time. She would have to study at home, sadly.

.

Cautious steps were unheard in the corridor, as the sound of the piano was stronger. It was a beautiful, yet sad song, that made Madoka wonder if it was Homura the one who played.

People said music meant emotions. If it works this way, did it mean that the ebony was able to actually feel something?

She hesitatingly knocked the door with a trembling fist. Entering that room would mean getting out of her confort zone, to meet unknown, probably dangerous territory.

The piano suddenly hushed, and Homura's cold voice told her to come in.

The pinkette repressed a squeal when the first thing she found when opening the door was Kyoko's grinning face, looking at her as she was sitting on a chair. She removed the pocky from her mouth and looked at Homura. "He, tu sí que saps com escollir-les, tata. És bastant cuca."

Homura sternly glared at her sister. "Hush." She snapped, slightly blushing, though it was almost unperceptible in her pale cheeks. "It is unpolite to talk in another language when we have guests." She didn't even show any track about the meaning of Kyoko's words. She then looked at Madoka. "Forgive my sister." She said coldly, though her stare was stern no longer, just emotionless. "You may come in and take a seat."

Kyoko scoffed, as she put the pocky back in her mouth and stood up. "I'll leave ya gurls 'lone." With that, she left, closing the door. Homura just blinked.

"W-well..." Madoka muttered, fidgeting with her thumbs.

Homura looked into her eyes. "You must have a lot of questions about what happened yesterday." She said. "Just ask away, and I will answer."

Madoka thought for some seconds. During the class, she had many things to ask, but now, her mind was blocked. The other patiently waited. Suddenly, out of thoughts, the pinkette blurted out. "W-were you really the one who played?" An unconfortable silence, Homura raising an eyebrow, and Madoka knew she was asking something stupid, since the ebony was the one sitting right in front of the piano. An ashamed blush tinted Madoka's cheeks, along with a sweatdrop.

"Is that what you want to know?" Homura asked coldly.

"N-n-n-no!" Madoka shook her hands. "Oh, well, y-yes! B-but that's not what I came here to ask! I-i mean- ... ... Th-that song was b-b-beautiful!"

Homura's eyes showed surprise for the very first time. Perhaps the ebony had not expected a sudden compliment from her. It took her a second to clear her throat and recover her composture. "Thank you." She said, trying to keep the stoic and cold tone in her voice, and luckily succeeding.

Madoka was lucky as well, for the first question seemed to appear in her mind. She smiled sheepishly about the raven-haired's reaction, and then her features became worried again when she dared to ask away. "Th-those creatures... That attacked me last night... What were they?"

The ebony looked at her solemnly. "It was a witch, along with her minions." She coldly explained.

"A-a witch?"

Homura replied with a nod, and then continued to explain. "The living form of despair itself is a way to call them. They are not visible to humans, but possess them by marking their neck. That's called a 'witch kiss'." The former was paying more attention to her than to a thousand lessons, her eyes never abandoning her except to blink, sometimes replying with small nods. "You were able to see it because it locked you inside its barrier."

"S-so... They are hidden from us?"

"They cannot attack in your world, so they create theirs to live and act from there. That's why, despite the fact that they are as old as humanity, they remain unnoticed. Their actions are confused with natural disasters, or else called mysteries, and abandoned after unsucceful investigations."

"I... I see..." She was learning a lot of new information about things she never imagined they existed. Then, the other question Homura had obviously been expecting came out from her mouth. "So... You are not human, right? Since you can see them and fight them... Wh-what are you?"

The question was recieved with a blink of acknowledgement. "The opposite of a witch; a 'magical girl'." Madoka let out a small gasp, but Homura shook her head. "No, Madoka Kaname, it does not work the way you imagine it."

Madoka swallowed the saliva inside her mouth. "Wh-what do you mean, Akemi-San?"

"Please, call me Homura."

"Homura..." The name felt strange on her tongue as she pronounced it. It was a very uncommon name, which meant 'flame'. "Th-then... Homura-chan... What do you mean?"

Homura silently hesitated. Was she supposed to tell her the truth? Yes, she was. If not, sooner or later, the blonde Mami Tomoe would, and her version was really different, for she still believed Kyubey's lies. Everytime she thought about that girl, the word 'naïve' crossed the ebony's mind.

"Let me explain you." She said at the end, and pulled her soul gem out.

Madoka's magenta eyes widened a little. That was the gem the ice-queen had used to heal her reddened wrist after saving her. She remembered it well, though, instead of looking like a diamond, it had now the shape of an egg.

"This item..." Homura begun. "...is called Soul Gem. Most girls think it's where we keep our powers... They are wrong." Her gaze became even more stern now. "What I am showing you right now is my petrified soul."

The pinkette covered her mouth with her hands, as she gasped in awe and horror at the same time.

"A miracle is granted in exchange of a wish, and so, we become this and are supposed to fight witches to survive. Remember that object that fell from it? That black jewel?" Madoka nodded softly. "It's the soul of a witch, a grief seed. We use them to remove the darkness from our soul gems. If not..." She looked down for a moment, her pause creating a suspense, but homura didn't mean it this time. The truth was horrid, even to her, and she needed to breathe before saying what would completely terrify the other.

"I-if not...?" The shorter girl asked. That brought Homura's cold, deep gaze, to look into her own eyes, stabbing them like a blade would.

"If not, our corrupted soul gem breaks, and turns into a grief seed, and us into witches."

Madoka's shoulders dropped heavily, her mouth opened in horror, but no words came from it.

"That's it." Homura continued. "All miracle needs an equal damnation to keep the balance. Some day, I will be a witch too, and also Kyoko, unless we get killed by them before."

The pink-haired girl was starting to shake again. "B-but how... Why... Why did you choose... To turn into a... A magical girl...? I-I mean... You had a choice... R-right...?"

Homura shrugged, keeping the truth inside her. "Perhaps because what I wished for was more important than the sake of my soul... Or perhaps because the Incubator hadn't told us the truth."

"I-incubator...?"

Homura nodded. "The one who grants wishes in exchange of souls. He tricks you to make a contract with him, never telling you the hidden truth." She then looked down, not abandoning her coldness. "Many magical girls like myself had to die and decay for me to discover it..." And then, her eyes were back into Madoka's. "But I have learned my lesson, and I hope you do so too." Her voice was more stern than ever. "If you ever see some white cat-like being, rings around its pseudo-ears, red round eyes and a permanent grin, ignore him, or you will end up like us, or worse."

The pinkette was wordless now, as scared as when she was about to be murdered. The bell rang just in time, and the ebony stood up, carefully closing the piano.

"It's time to go to class." She said coldly, but softly. "I advice you never to forget my words if you want to live."

.

Afternoon, and the two magical girls were making their way over the roofs.

"So." Kyoko said. "Ya told 'er da truth, hu?"

Homura nodded. "I had to try. Other methods have been useless in other time lines."

Kyoko grinned. "Ya stubborn gurl, nevah giveen' up. I told ya we were strong females, ya and meh. Am I right or am I wrong?" She softly hit Homura's arm with her elbow.

"...I guess..." Homura said, and then, straightened her spine. "I mean, you are right."

Kyoko chuckled, but then, her features grew stern as she became alerted. "Sistah..."

Homura nodded. "I have noticed her too." She prepared her shield as Kyoko tightened the grip of her spear.

A blonde girl approached them, drills of curly hair tied as pigtails, calm yellow eyes, a soft smile. She held a white shotgun with each of her hands, ambidextrous, just like the ebony. As she walked, her enormous breasts slightly bounced.

"Mameh." Kyoko called her name scornfully.

"Tomoe Mami, it's surprising to see you here." Homura politely said. She knew Mami and Kyoko had had a friendship in the past, but it painfully broke. It was not good for those two to be together. "What are you doing here?"

"The same as you two." She said with her soft voice. "Witch-hunting."

"This be our territoreh! Get da fuck outta here!" Kyoko snapped, stepping forwards.

Homura put a hand on her shoulder, making her step backwards again. "Temper, sister." She said, and then, looked back at Mami. "What Kyoko means is that you entered our territory." She then passed her fingers along her black, long, silky hair, making it prettily wave in the air. "I have no problems with us hunting together, but I don't want you two to end up badly."

The red head growled, and spat in the ground.

"Temper." Homura repeated.

"I understand." Mami nodded, her smile never fading, which caused Kyoko's rage to grow. "I just wanted to ask if you knew what causes Kyubey's absence. I haven't seen him in a few days."

Kyoko's grimace turned into an amused grin. "Tell 'er, sistah!" She said.

"You should not worry about Kyubey." Homura said, her cool expression never changing. "His absence is my responsibility, but he will come back."

Mami's smile faded. "What have you done to him?" She asked, now concerned about the small, yet secretly evil being.

"At this moment..." Homura replied. "...it is none of your business."

"Yes, it is!" Mami argued.

Kyoko looked at the raven-haired. "Homu, I dun't wanna continue dis conversation. Can we go?"

Homura nodded. "Don't mind us." She told the blonde. "We'll take our leave."

"Wait-!" Mami answered too late, they had vanished into nothing. "Tsk. It's impossible to keep a conversation with those two..."

.

"Hey, gurl! Madoka? MadoMado?! Ground control to major Madoka! Do you copy me?" Sayaka shook Madoka by her shoulders, until the pinkette shook her head.

"S-sorry, Sayaka-chan... I..."

"Geez." The bluonette cut her off. "You've been zonin' out the whole day. You do really need a rest!"

"But-!"

"No buts. You trully ain't okay, and I worry! You are my best friend!"

"..."

"Go home, I'll go visit Kamijou-kun by myself." She grinned. "We'll go together tomorrow, okay?"

Madoka smiled gently. "Thank you, Sayaka-chan... See you tomorrow..." She answered tiredly.

"Bye!"

Madoka started to walk home, and Sayaka, after buying some CDs, headed towards the hospital, where she would see the boy she had a crush on.

.

"Why is da moon so special, sistah?" Kyoko asked, eating again, as she kicked her legs.

"I like it, that's all." She said, never moving her purplish gaze from it.

They were both sitting on the roof, sharing the grief-seeds as they had dinner. The ebony was having an apple, the red head ate the other nine of the basket.

"Guess what?" Homura coldly asked. "Tomorrow the teacher is going to give us a 'surprise', assigning us a sudden science work in pairs. She is choosing them herself."

"Pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff..." Kyoko bit one of the apples, and, as she talked, she spat small crumbs of it. "Boooooring."

"We have no other choice."

"I know, I know."

"Look at the bright side." She said, now looking deeply into her red eyes.

"Doez it haz a bwight shibe?" She asked, now her mouth full enough to make her talking worse than usual.

"I bet you will have fun... Having to interact with other humans, and managing chemical products."

Kyoko swallowed, and then she grinned, her face now similar to the meme's troll's. "Yous right. Tis'll be fun."

Homura looked up at the enormous, bright satellite again, not even smiling as any other person would have. The only thing she could think about was that the teacher would probably choose Madoka to be her partner for that work.


	3. Day 3

The alarm clock rang, but Madoka's eyes were opened already. They had been like this for the whole night, except for the moments she closed them to try and get some sleep, unsuccessfully.

She dizzily went down stairs to say 'good morning' to her father, who was already cooking breackfast.

"Good morning, papa..." She greeted him with a tired smile.

"Morning, Madoka. Are you okay?" He asked, a little concerned.

"Yes... I didn't sleep very well last night... Maybe... Because of the full moon?" She found that excuse, for sometimes people blamed the full moon when they had insomnia, so... Why wasn't she going to do the same? The pinkette would not tell them about the magical girls, the witches, the fact that she had almost been murdered by one and that traumatized her enough to make her unable to sleep, the fact that she was worried because she knew Homura and Kyoko were in danger of being killed, or turning into witches themselves. They would not belive her, perhaps they would think she was insane, and that was the last thing she wanted.

"Maybe." Her father replied, giving a gullible shrug. "Don't tire yourself too much today, okay?"

Madoka replied with a small nod.

"Ah, can you wake Mama up, plese?"

"Sure..." The girl obeyed, as she usually did, and went to her mother's room, where her little brother was already trying his best to pull their mother out of her deep slumber.

"Mamaaaa~ Wake uuuup!" The toddler called, hiting her softly with his small fists.

The eldest sister gave him a small smile. "Let me try..." She whispered to him, as she picked him up, left him back on the ground, opened the curtains so the light would fill the room and pulled the blanket away from her mother. "Wake up!" She called.

The woman sat up and screamed, shaking her limbs until she opened her eyes. "Huuuh...?"

"Mama woke up." The youngest pointed.

.

Meanwhile, in another place, something similar was happening.

"Kyoko, wake up. We have to go to school, and I don't want to be late." Homura said, as she slightly shook her 'sister' by her shoulders.

"Five moar minutes, sissssssssssss..." The red head begged, as she rolled in the bed.

"No." The ebony replied. "You are in my house, using my bed, so you follow my rules."

"'Kay, mom." The rebel sat up, rubbing her eyes in annoyance.

"I left breakfast for you in the dining room. You'd better eat quickly before-" Her words were cut as Kyoko ran away yelling. "Fooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddddddddddddddddddddddd!"

Homura sighed and sweat dropped. "There we go again..." She whispered.

.

Finally, everyone was in class, as the natural sciences teacher looked at them with a solemn expression. "Well, my dear students, today I will assign you a surprise work."

Homura and Kyoko looked at each other. They already knew that, and also the next thing she was going to tell them.

"You will be working in pairs, and you will try to create this chemical reaction." As she spoke, she typed the formula in the white board, before turning around again, and making an evil grin. "I will choose the partners myself."

A crescendo of voices arised as the students complained. Only Homura, Kyoko, Madoka and Hitomi stood silent, each one with their reasons to do so.

"Silence, I beg you!" The teacher yelled as she hit the eraser against the white board. It worked in a few seconds.

After assigning each student one of their classmates as a pair, the sound of moving tables filled the class, as they situated themselves in small teams.

.

"Yo." Kyoko raised her hand to greet the blue-haired. "You Sayaka, hu? Dat gurl says we have tho work in pairs, so..." She said, pointing to the teacher.

"Right, right." Sayaka said. "Here, take a seat." She patted the chair besides her, and Kyoko obeyed with a scoff.

"What?" The blue-haired asked.

"Notheen." Kyoko grinned, and took a pocky from her box, using her teeth to pull it out. She then offered the box to the other. "Want one?" She asked.

"Wait, isn't it wrong to eat in class?" Sayaka asked, blinking with her widened eyes.

"I dun't give a fuck." Kyoko chuckled. "Do you?"

Sayaka smiled slyly. "Honestly not." She took a pocky as well. "C'mon, let's work. We have a lot to do."

Kyoko nodded evilly. "Okee dokee."

.

In another corner of the class, Homura greeted a very sleepy Madoka. "You don't look good, Madoka Kaname." She commented, as cold as usual. "May I know what's wrong?"

"N-nothing special, Homura-chan..." She shyly replied to the taller girl. "I... Haven't slept well, lately..." Out of her confort zone again and in her conditions, she felt more defenseless than if she had to work with any other student. The pinkette didn't feel strong enough to deal with the ice-queen, and she found her scarier than usual. Not because of her features, for she found her pretty. It was because of her cold attitude. Madoka didn't know what could she do not to offend her, to satisfy her, to have her as a friend, perhaps, or else as a nice classmate. She found her really mysterious and unpredictable, always looking at her in awe and fright at the same time. But today it was different.

"I see..." The ebony replied. "Let's start to work, shall we?"

"Y-yes..." The smaller girl nodded, weakly and submissively.

Minutes passed, and Madoka ws unable to concentrate, her features showing she was completely defeated. She kept apologizing to the ebony, but was truly unable to do things right, since all she needed was to sleep, but all she could think about were the witches.

Suddenly, after observing her for a while, Homura stood up. "Teacher... May I bring Madoka to the nurse office? She is not feeling well."

"H-huh...?" Madoka blinked, having never expected that, as she felt all the eyes of the class over her.

"Um... Sure, I don't see why not." The teacher shrugged. "You may go."

The ebony offered the pinkette a firm hand for her to stand up, and then, the two girls walked out of the class.

.

"I wonder what's wrong with Madoka..." Sayaka sighed. "She has been keeping me worried since yesterday... And now she is left in that crow's hands... I hope she is okay."

"Dun't talk shit 'bout mah sistah, ya smurf." Kyoko blurted out, making the blue-haired's sapphire eyes widden. "Do ya think da gurl with da pink hairdo ain't safe with her? Well, ya trully wrong."

"H-how can you say that?!" Sayaka snapped back. "Haven't you seen her? She is a goth! She seems to care about noone but herself! Don't ya see how she looks at her?! She seems like a hawk waiting to catch its pray!"

Kyoko growled. "I'd bitch-slap ya right now, but meh hands are busy with dat fraggin' crap ya call science. Tsé. Tsss..."

"What do you mean?" Sayaka frowned, narrowing her eyes.

"Just wait an' see, gurl. Ya friendo will be okie, and imma gonna have fun now."

"Wait... Wha-?!"

Before Sayaka finished her sentence, Kyoko mixed the two opposite liquids she was holding, and an explossion of a yellowish dust caught them both, covering them with it. The red head had a laughter attack, as the blue-haired started to violently cough.

"Damn you, rascal!" She was finally able to say.

.

The nurse office was empty. Homura took a seat and told Madoka to do the same.

"So..." The ebony said, her purple eyes never leaving the pinkette's. "...What's so wrong with you you can't even rest?"

"I... Uhm..." She looked down.

"Since it's something you are telling no one, you can tell me. I know it's related to what happened that evening, so I won't question your mental health if you do so."

"W-well..." Madoka looked down, blushing a little. "Th-the truth is that I am scared..."

Homura tilted her head to the left.

"I... I am scared... About the witches... I... I don't want them... To hu-hurt me... or anyone I l-love... And care about..." She closed her eyes, hugging her tiny body with her thin arms. The fact of thinking about those situations was enough for her eyes to fill with tears, and this time, she was unable to control them.

Just as the ice-queen expected. But what Madoka was going to say now slightly caught her by surprise, just a little bit.

"I am also a-afraid... B-because of you... And y-your sister... I... I don't know how long you will re-remain alive... A-and there is nothing I can d-do... A-about it.." She covered her eyes with her hands, her tears streaming between her narrow fingers. "A-all those witches... Th-they were girls before... R-right...? They... They must have suffered a-a lot..." She shook as she sobbed.

"I can't deny that." Homura said. "But Kyoko and I are strong enough to defend ourselves. None of us is going to die." She made a small pause, and then continued. "We keep cleaning our soul gems with grief seeds, keeping them always bright and pure, so there is no way we are turning into witches. ... Let's just say we have a good hunting territory."

Madoka kept crying. The ebony made another pause, to evaluate the other. At the end, she cleared her throat, to allow another little bit of kindness to escape from inside her.

"Besides... I protected you that day, didn't I? That means our duty is to protect people from witches. So why do you think we will not be there to protect you and your closest people more times?"

The pinkette sniffled, and looked up at her, hugging her own body again. Tears kept rolling down her cheeks, and falling from her chin onto her lap.

"You still keep the tissue I gave you, don't you?"

The smaller girl made a soft, almost inaudible gasp, and pulled it out of her pocket, using it then to dry her tears.

"Good." The ebony sempt to approve, as she nodded slowly. "Now lay down."

"Wh-what?!" She squealed, now completely confused. A last tear fell.

"The lack of sleep is unhealthy, and you obviously are not in good condition to work. So I am going to make you sleep."

"U-uh..." Her face reddened, as she looked around.

Homura pointed to the sofa people usually used to wait on.

Finally, Madoka obeyed, sheepishly yet submissively. When she laid down, she saw the ebony in her magical girl uniform.

"Wh-what are you doing...?" The pinkette asked, slightly lifting her head.

"I am going to give you the necessary _time_ for you to rest." The mechanical shield appeared in her left arm, and as she walked to the other, she quickly put her head down again. Homura put a hand in her shoulder.

"Huh?"

"Physical contact must be mantained. If not, time will stop for you too." The shield's mechanism activated, a red sand running through it, the gears starting to spin. "Look at your watch, Madoka Kaname."

The other girl obeyed only to find out time had truly stopped. She looked around to find and take a quick glance to the infirmary clock; it had stopped working as well.

"I-incredible..." The pinkette muttered in a whisper.

"Now remember this, and dont forget it:" Homura sternly told her. "I am the only one here with you, right now. And if something happens I'll keep you safe. Now sleep." She finished with this order.

"A-alright..." Madoka whispered weakly. "Th-thank you... Ho-Homura-chan..." She slowly closed her magenta eyes, feeling the warmth of the ebony's hand in her shoulder. Even though she was far away from her confort zone, she now somehow felt protected beside that stoic classmate of hers. After a while, she was peacefully sleeping, her breathing being the only audible thing in the silent room.

.

"Daaamn, gurl! What happened there inside?!" Sayaka asked, looking at Madoka with widened eyes.

"I-it's not what you think, Sayaka." The pinkette gave her friend an awkward smile as she shook her hands. "Sh-she just stood with me until I felt better, that's all!" Then, she realised her best friend's hair was all wet. "Wh-what happeed to you?!" She asked, now concerned.

"Aaah!" The blue-haired put both her hands at the back of her head and laughed. "That stupid red head played with the chemicals, and we both had to use the showers after a lecture from the teacher." She ended her sentence with a grin. "Luckily, the teacher says we will continue tomorrow, so both your group and mine will have to catch up!"

"Hm.~" Madoka gave a nod, her eyes glittering just like they did before the incident. The bubbly pinkette was back, at least, for now.

.

"Nice witch hunteen, sis. "Kyoko told her 'sister', as they both counted the grief-seeds, the sun already setting. "Are we goen' home already?"

"There is food on the fridge. You can go, I'll stay here for a while." Homura replied, her lavender eyes now lost in the distance.

"'Kay." The red head said. "See ya." With that last fairwell and after a nod from the other, the rebel magical girl left.

The ebony then passed her fingers along her long hair. That gesture of hers did never mean arrogance, it was just a way to reafirm herself and hold on.

She headed towards an alley, a corner of her hunting territory, where she knew she would find someone desecrating it. "Mami Tomoe, I have noticed you." She saw the startled blonde turning around to look at her. "Do not worry, my 'sister' is not here."

"That's a relief..." The blonde sighed. "Indeed, I came here peacefully. I do not want useless bothering fights."

The raven-haired raised an eyebrow. She knew those 'useless bothering fights' could cause a lot of damage if they were not controlled. "So, what do you want, if I may ask?" She coldly asked her, rather calm, as usual.

"We didn't finish our talk, yesterday." The blonde said, now stern. "What do you have against Kyubey?"

"As I told you last night..." Homura replied, her expression not even changing. "...that's my own business."

Mami's smile then came back. "Do you think you impress me by acting this way? I am very experienced in being a magical girl, and as far as I know, you have only been in Mitakihara for three days." She started playing with one of her drills, usig her fingers. "It's really impressing that you actually know my name. Has Kyubey told you, by the way?"

"Well." Homura said, balancing the weight of her body from one leg to the other and crossing her arms. "The truth is..." She then suddenly disappeared, and Mami could hear her voice right behind her. "...that there are many things you don't know."

A chill ran along the big-breasted's spine, and she quickly turned around, aiming one of her shotguns at the ebony. "...How... On Earth... Did you do this?!" She asked, her voice now showing some glimpses of fear.

"I have my secrets. Now, I'd politely advice you to leave." She made her characteristic gesture, her black hair waving in the air. "The next time you come, you'd better be prepared for one of those 'useless bothering fights' you talked about before. Now fairwell, Mami Tomoe."

The scared blonde took some steps backwards, and at the end, she left. Homura nodded approvingly before disappearing.

.

"Well, Madoka, you seem to be much better now." Tomoisha commented, as they were having dinner.

"See, papa?" Madoka smiled to him. "It was the full moon."

"Marokaaa!" The toddler almost dropped some food to the ground, but Junko was faster.

"There, sweetie. Make sure the food goes from the dish to your mouth."

"Aye mama!" Tatsuya giggled.

Madoka smiled softly. She wondered how long would this serenity last.

.

Kyoko was eating her fifth plate when her movile phone rang. "Yo." She answered.

"Kyoko." Homura greeted.

"Whadayawant?" She asked, after swallowing.

"I'll be home late. You'll probably be asleep by then."

"Okye."

"Enjoy your f-"

"Beep." As usual, the red-head hanged up her mobile phone before the former had finished speaking.

"I thank ya, m'lord, 4 da food ya bring us. _Itadakimasu!_ " She concentrated on her food again.

.

Madoka was curled into a ball down the blankets of her bed, trembling a little bit as she shut her eyes closed. Alone in the darkness, she felt unprotected again, and no matter the effort she put on it, she was unable to sleep again.

Every time she closed her eyes, she could see the witches and minions throwing themselves against her. She gasped and opened them, snapping back to reality and the vision of her room, where noone but her stayed. But when she closed them, the witches came back to her view.

This cycle was repeated for an hour and a half, until suddenly, when she opened them, she found someone else staying in her room. The pinkette let out a short squeal.

"Do not fear." A familiar voice said, with a familiar calm and coldness on it, lilac eyes looking at her from upon.

"H-homura-chan...? H-how... did you... enter my room?" She asked, panting from the bitter surprise she just had.

"Locked doors are not a handicap to magical girls like myself." She said. "I knew you would have problems to sleep again, and I don't want you to end up like this morning." Madoka looked at her, silently, her eyes widened. "I am here to help you sleep, that's all."

"B-but why...?" Madoka murmured.

"Don't ask that." Homura replied in a low volume.

Madoka made a silence, looking downwards, and then, looked back at her. "Wh-what if someone notices you...?"

"They won't. Now lay down and sleep."

Madoka obeyed. Curiously, this time Homura's presence didn't intimidate her, and again, just like in the nurse office, she somehow felt safer, knowing someone strong like the ice-queen would stand by her side. Perhaps, the pinkette was growing to trust her... A liitle bit. "G-good night..." She muttered in a shy whisper.

"Night." The ebony replied, and stood next to her, looking at nothing at all, her gaze lost again.

Madoka closed her eyes, giving herself up to Morpheus's arms.


	4. Day 4

"K-Kaname-San... D-don't go!"

"Kaname-San! I became a magical girl too! Let's do our best together!"

"It's okay... Let's make a last effort... The two of us will defeat Walpurgisnacht..."

"What if... We became monsters together...?"

"No matter how many times I have to go through the same... I will repeat it only to save you!"

.

A sleepy hand pressed the button of the alarm clock to silent it. The same hand rubbed two magenta eyes, that half-opened after that gesture. Those eyes looked around the room, it filled with daylight, but no one else was there.

Perhaps Homura's visit last night was just a dream, but it had been real enough for Madoka to fall asleep.

The previous hand was placed against its owner's chest; it hurt.

She couldn't recognize the voice she had dreamed about, neither she was sure if she had ever heard those sentences, but remembering them filled her with emotions she had never felt before, and yet, it didn't seem like the first time she felt them.

She decided to forget about it. It was just a dream, after all, and she hadn't slept that well for two nights. She should be happy.

The pinkette jumped off her bed and decided to start her daily routine to go to school.

.

"Meooow~."

"Amy, is that you?"

The black stray she-cat rubbed against the ebony's legs, and she took it as an answer. Somehow, every time she met Amy in new time lines, the furry being seemed to recognize her, as if she were the only one who remembered everything besides Homura.

That brought her comfort.

Since she arrived too soon to school, she decided to pick the cat up and place it over her lap, sitting on a bench. She stroked it as it licked her healing wounds. Indeed, she had been awake the whole night again, fighting witches.

"Good morning, Homura-Chan!"

The ice-queen looked up at the shorter girl in front of her, who was greeting her with a shy but joyful smile.

"Good morning." She replied, her expression not changing at all.

The pinkette's smile widened, and she dared, for the first time, to sit beside the other by herself, still keeping a cautious distance. Her magenta gaze went down from Homura's face to her lap.

"Such an adorable kitten!" She reached a hand to pet it, and it rubbed its head against it. The girl giggled, and looked up at the other before asking. "Does it have a name?"

"Amy." The ebony replied. "I me la vas presentar tu mateixa…" She whispered that last thing, it inaudible to the pinkette.

Certainly, Madoka's wish in the original time line was to save the little stray cat's life, for it had been hit by a car. Homura had made sure that the dark-colored fur ball was far away from that danger at that very moment.

"You really seem to get along very well." Madoka's smile faded a little, yet it never fully disappeared. That little feline was somehow related with her last dream, and those odd emotions hammered her chest again.

The only reply the former gave her was the movement of her lilac eyes as she looked downwards. No. The ice-queen Homura Akemi had a reputation to maintain, and she was not going to show herself melting for a little animal. Madoka didn't mind anyway, she still found that situation surprisingly adorable, for she had never expected the taller girl to show affection to some living creature.

Then, something else popped in her mind.

"A-ah, s-sorry! I… Forgot to thank you…" That brought Homura's stare back. "…For… Well… For your help…" A blush was starting to bring a reddish color to her face.

The ebony's only answer was a single nod of acknowledgement before looking again at Amy, who was playing with her hand. The pinkette's smile came back, but it faded again when she noticed the scratches over the other's extremely pale skin. She couldn't help but to worry again about the harm the witches could cause as they fought against them.

Suddenly, the purple-eyed stood up, carefully leaving the cat on the ground. "Go now, little one." She whispered, her coldness never disappearing, as she gave it a last stroke. "We'll meet later."`

The petite feline answered the two teenagers with a meow and swiftly padded away.

The ebony got rid of the fur in her skirt and hands, and looked deeply into Madoka's eyes, who blinked in surprise. "We must go to class, people will arrive soon."

"Ah." The pinkette nodded and followed the other inside the building.

.

"Don't you dare to do that again!" The blue-haired blurted out. "We have to do this right! I don't wanna fail this subject!"

Kyoko took her seat, strangely calm, as if she were used to sermons. "Easy, gurl." She said, as she offered her pocky box after helping herself.

The other hesitated a little before accepting one and mumbling a "thank you".

"So." The red head looked at her with a small grin. "Ya tell meh whatta do, and I obey."

"I don't trust you." Sayaka made a solemn pout. "Not after yesterday's mess…"

"Hey." The red-haired girl frowned. "I swear o'er da bible."

"The bible?" Sayaka's eyes widened. "Have you read it?"

"O'course, babe." The red head said with a serious nod. "TBH, it da only book I've evah read."

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaa?!" Sayaka hadn't expected that answer, and she was now completely startled.

"Any problem with meh religion, biach?!" She now looked offended.

Sayaka shook her hands and head. "No, no, no, no, not at all!" She gave an awkward chuckle. "Come on, let's work! We have a lot to do!"

"Aye, den."

.

"Oh, no…" Madoka muttered, as she wrote as fast as she could. "There is no way we can finish this today…"

The ebony looked at her, while she was easily managing the chemicals. "There is one way." As she spoke, Madoka looked at her, her magenta eyes glittering with innocence and hope. "I have those products in my house. … Don't ask me why. But we can finish this in the afternoon."

"Huh?" Madoka tilted her head a little.

"We have to write the names of the products we have to mix and the elements we have to use so we can arrive at that result, if I understood correctly. If we get wrong…" There was no way Homura could be wrong, for she had done it in every time line. "…we have to start again. And even if we don't, the process is too long and wearisome to finish it now." Homura blinked, and moved her gaze from her work to her partner, as if expecting her to say something.

"S-so you mean… That we can meet this afternoon to finish it?"

Homura nodded softly. "There might be some interruptions, for I'll have to kill witches as well. I apologize about that." Even when she gave apologies, her voice was still monotone. "But I think we will manage to finish it."

"R-right!" Madoka's features now showed excitement. "I will ask pa- I mean… My parents!"

"Fine."

Madoka then attempted to look into Homura's eyes, but when the ebony glanced back, the former was unable to hold her gaze, and had to look away. "W-will your parents agree?" She dared to ask. It was impossible for her to imagine how the ice-queen's family would look like.

"I live by myself, so there is nothing to worry about." She replied plainly.

"Ha?!" Madoka's features changed quickly, now showing surprise and awe at the same time.

The other one blinked, and went back to her work, as if trying to avoid any questions about that subject.

The pinkette was innocent, but not stupid. She noticed it, and decided to talk about something else. "W-well… Should I bring something then?"

"I have all the materials we need." She said, looking at her again, as she kept managing things with both her hands, which astonished the pinkette anew. "You don't have to worry about anything."

"U-uh…" She nodded repeatedly, paying more attention to the other's pale, agile, beautiful hands than to her words.

"You don't know where I live, anyways." Homura turned back. "We should then meet at the school gates at half past five, and then go home from there."

Suddenly, something came back to the pinkette's mind; a question she had been willing to ask since the ebony led her home after the witch's attack, the same question she thought about when she suddenly appeared in her room at night.

"How did you know where I live?" She asked bluntly, making sure no one would hear that, or else they would look at them weirdly.

"That's a magical girls' secret." She answered, using the same low volume.

No more questions came.

.

"Please be respectful." Homura said, after telling Kyoko that Madoka would come home to work together.

Kyoko chuckled at the blush in her sister's cheeks and the worry her expression didn't show, but she knew her well enough to detect it.

"Dun't fear!" The red head said, the chewed food visible inside her mouth as she opened it to speak. "Da smurf and I are goen' tho M.C. Donald's tho finish our works too, so ya'll be 'lone with ya're gurl to make luv." She made a toothy grin, and then, put her hands together, in a pleading position. "Ah, an' I'll need ya sweet hear' tho lend me cash."

"…" Homura glared deeply at her sibling, blushing in shame and annoyance, though her expression hadn't changed at all. "I'd sometimes kill you, you know?" She said, bitterness now added to her cold voice.

"Aww, ya know ya luv meh, sissy." That was the last sentence that came from her mouth before it was filled with food again.

.

"Papa, Mama, I have to finish a work with Homura, the transferred student I told you about. May I go to her home this afternoon?" Madoka asked her parents. As all parents do, they filled her with questions and conditions, but at the end, they allowed her to go if she didn't come back home too late.

After having lunch, the pinkette got ready to go. She made sure to take her mobile phone, the things she had already written in class, her pencil case and her schedule, keeping all that stuff in her school bag.

Then, something else caught her attention: her pink notebook, left on her table. After looking at it for a while, she decided to pick it up and carry it too. Perhaps she would find a moment to show Homura what she had drawn inside, and maybe, just maybe, she would luckily like her drawings a bit, or at least, she hoped so.

.

Sayaka looked slightly uncomfortable, as Kyoko made her Christian praying right behind the enormous mountain of junk food she had bought. She didn't dare to cut her, having no experience in any religions at all. She then looked down at her only hamburger; she thought it was more than enough. Looking back at the enormous pile that separated them, the bluenette wondered how could the red head eat that much every day without even fattening.

"So, ain't we ganna work or somethin'?" The red-haired girl asked, in a pause between nibbles, chewing and swallowing.

"Uhm… How are we going to if I can't even see your face?" The latter asked, trying to search some glimpse of the other with her sapphire eyes.

"Ah. It true." Kyoko pushed all the junk food to a side, the pile now leaning against the wall. Sayaka again preferred not to comment. "It cool now?" She asked, tilting her head, scanning Sayaka's expression with her crimson gaze.

"Uh… Y-yeah, very cool." The blue-haired girl grinned awkwardly, sweat-dropping, but that seemed to satisfy Kyoko.

"Awright. Let's work den." She replied with a toothy grin.

"Wait…" Sayaka pushed her hamburger aside too, and then emptied her back pack, everything she had inside falling onto the table. "This is all I have. Please, do tell me you have the rest of the material!" The bluenette was starting to get stressed.

"Ah." The red head shrugged. "I dun't." She answered bluntly.

"What the-?!"

"Wait!" She cut her off. "I can get it."

"H-how…?!" The other asked, already feeling defeated.

"Just wait." Kyoko said, standing up. "BRB, take care o' meh food." She then ran away, leaving the other wide-eyed.

Minutes kept passing, terribly slowly, and the bluenette was starting to become desperate, as she played with a small fry. Suddenly, a familiar voice greeted her from behind with a "yo", startling her enough for her hands to stiff and accidentally drop the fry: a terrible mistake.

The red head threw herself to the ground, reaching the chip in due time. Then, she swiftly stood up, and aimed it at the blue-haired's neck, growling.

Sayaka didn't know if she should be scared, or either have a laughter attack. All her doubts were removed when Kyoko used that same hand to pull up her collar, high enough to lift her a bit, and snapped at her.

"Da next time ya waste food I'll kill ya." She threatened, showing true anger, feeling Sayaka's hands grabbing her wrist. Some seconds later, she let go, and sat in her place. "I brought everytheen'." She explained after sighing her rage away. "We can work now."

The bluenette rubbed her neck, and looked at Kyoko, fear in her eyes, thinking that Homura might be like a glittering fairy beside that rascal.

Kyoko anyways showed no more signs of violence, as she was eating again.

Sayaka in the end decided to cautiously start working, never putting down her guard since then.

.

"Have you been waiting for too long?"

Homura's voice right behind her caused Madoka to squeal, and quickly turn around. She hadn't heard her approaching to her, but there she was. "N-no…"She answered, after sighing to calm herself down from the sudden surprise. "I arrived a minute ago, more or less." She smiled. "How are you, Homura-chan?"

"I'm fine." It was hard to know if she spoke the truth, or else, lied, for her voice and face revealed no emotions at all. "What about you, Madoka Kaname?"

"I'm fine too." She kept smiling, maybe starting to get used to the ebony's behavior.

"Good." The other nodded. "Follow me, then."

"S-sure."

The ice-queen led her through streets the other had never seen. She looked around, trying to taste everything with her eyes. She was so distracted she accidentally collided against Homura, who was standing in front of a huge, old and fancy building. The place was dark, though, and a small chill ran through the stumbling girl's spine.

"S-sorry!" She said, attempting to keep her balance.

"It's okay." The other said, giving her a last glance before she headed to open the door with her keys. There were no doubts left: that was Homura Akemi's house.

The insides were even colder and astonishing; the ebony led the pinkette towards her living room. The walls and the floor were painted white, a purple table in the middle, surrounded by different-colored seats. Pictures, drawings and information about witches floated around, along with many writings in runes Madoka could not understand. There were gears accumulated in the middle of the ceiling, and a pendulum that looked like four scythes together swung, making a small noise, following the same rhythm a clock would. They were surrounded by candles.

"Take a seat." Homura said. "Do you want something to eat or drink?" She then asked.

"U-uh… N-no, thanks…" The other muttered awkwardly, obeying the ebony.

"…" The taller girl put a couple of mugs and a bottle of juice on the table. "I'll just leave this here." She said, and then left the room to look for the materials.

Madoka looked at the bottle. Perhaps Homura and she had things in common, or perhaps it had been just a coincidence, because that was Madoka's favorite juice. She didn't know why, but blushed a little bit, unable to move her glance from the container.

When Homura came back carrying everything they needed, she saw Madoka taking small, shy sips from her mug, and trying to look away. The ebony's lips threatened with tugging upwards a little bit, but they didn't. She hadn't smiled for too long, or else, she hadn't felt like smiling for too long.

Saying nothing about it, she sat in front of the other, and placed the materials and chemical elements on the table.

Suddenly remembering what she was carrying, Madoka left the mug for a second and pulled out of her school back what she had brought. "Y-you see…" She murmured, starting to fidget. "I-I couldn't take using all your material without bringing a thing, s-so I wanted to participate too…"

"Alright." The pale girl said, as she started to organize everything. Then, almost at the edge of the round table, she left her purple soul gem. "If some witch shows itself…" She explained. "…it will shine and warn us."

"O-okay…"

The afternoon was quite productive. They did everything successfully, and some times, Homura made illustrations about the elements they used, their shape, and the different chemical reactions they created for them to arrive to the definitive one. Madoka sometimes moved her magenta eyes from her careful writing to what the ebony was doing, and arrived at the clue that those floating images were also drawn by her.

Suddenly, Homura stopped working, her eyes looking at nothing at all.

"Homura-Chan…?" Madoka asked, cocking her head to a side.

"Sistah!" Kyoko's voice sounded in her mind. "Dere be a witch near us, and I ain't able to leave da smurf and do somethin'! Since Mado know 'bout dem, can ya go and kill it yarself?"

"Sure… My soul gem is starting to glimmer. You are not very far away, right?"

"We near from ya! M.C. Donald's remembah?! Be quick 'bout eet! People be starteen' tho act weird, and I dunno how long I can distract he'!"

"Okay." The ebony stood up, and then looked at Madoka. "My sister has given me a telepathic warning. She can't kill the witch near them, for she is with your friend." She took her already shining soul gem. "So I'll go."

"W-wait!" Madoka looked at her with concerned, begging eyes. "M-may I go too…? I know I can't help, but I want to make sure you are okay!"

Homura sighed. Arguing it would be a loss of time. "Fine. I'll protect you, but do not dare to become another handicap." She couldn't help sounding bitter, for she didn't want to put the girl she secretly loved in danger. She wanted her to be cautious. "Come." She headed quickly towards the door, the pinkette following closely behind, and closing it once outside to keep on following the ebony, who was already running.

Once they arrived, Madoka was already panting. Homura looked at the window, and saw people starting to get out from the restaurant, stumbling like zombies, and Kyoko messing up with the products and tools for Sayaka to correct her instead of paying attention to her surroundings.

Homura opened the barrier of the witch, and it surrounded the two girls.

"Gertrud." Homura murmured. They were inside a huge garden, spiky plants and roses all around them. The minions slowly approached towards them, threatening them with scissors, reciting things in German.

The pinkette covered her mouth, and the ebony took an SMG out of her shield. In a few seconds, the minions all around them were dead.

"Come." She ordered, as she started to run again, shooting at every enemy. Madoka followed her in tension, but looked at the other in awe. She was cold and dark, but she looked like a true hero at fighting. For a small moment, she wished she was able to do the same, but then she shook that idea off her head, remembering the price she would have to pay if she did so.

Everything went quickly, until the two teenagers found themselves standing right before the enormous witch.

The pinkette made a small gasp. "Th-that's horrid…" She whispered.

"Stay behind me." Homura demanded. It would be quick and easy to defeat her.

1st step: Distracting her, to avoid other problems.

2nd step: Killing her.

"Don't move." The ebony jumped forwards, allowing the witch to grab her by the ankle and throw her to the air. Madoka was about to yell her name when Homura yelled first. "Close your eyes!"

The human shut her magenta eyes closed, and then, still in the air, the raven-haired threw one of those small bombs that caused a strong light, completely disconcerting the witch, the loud noise making Madoka hug herself after another squeal.

Gertrud dangerously shook its vegetal limbs, as the ebony landed just like a cat would, using her shield to stop her time when one of those movements from the witch was about to hit the pinkette. She then grabbed her, her fingers gently yet firmly folding around her arm.

"Ah?!"

"Come." She commanded, as she pulled her. She put her away from the danger, and then shot a missile against the witch, releasing the time. The witch died, and the barrier faded, the grief seed falling onto Homura's hand before it disappeared inside her pocket.

All the humans that had been acting like living dead looked confused, some of them even fainted.

Kyoko was still trying to distract Sayaka, and succeeded. They would soon enough start to work again, and then finish.

But it was late as well, and Madoka was going to be late at home. She looked at her watch, a little worried.

"Let's pack your things, and I'll walk you home."

"B-but what about our work?"

"We are almost done. I don't want your parents to lecture you, so I'll finish it myself."

And so they did. Then, just like three days ago, there they were, in front of the same door.

Madoka looked at her with an apologetic smile. "I am sorry… If I were a burden."

"It's okay." Homura replied. "You didn't make things harder, anyways." She then said, looking away.

Madoka's smile became a little wider. "Y-you are really good at fighting. It was really scary, but it was a-awesome to look at you."

Homura blushed a little bit, her gaze snapping back at Madoka, now tense. "But it was dangerous."

"I-I know… Sorry…" She looked down, feeling small before the ebony's snap, but smiling a little bit. She had noticed for the first time a blush in the other's face, and could not help but to think it was cute.

Homura sighed. She hadn't noticed Madoka's little smile. "Look, I am not angry. Just stay away from danger, that's all." She said, as coldly as usual, perhaps in a clumsy attempt to comfort without losing her freezing reputation.

"O-okay!" Madoka gave her an innocent smile, and then turned around to open the door. Since she had gotten no answer, she looked backwards to see the ebony. Just like the last time, she was gone.

.

Together again, the two sisters went to hunt witches, and again, they sat together in the roof to share the grief seeds, and keep the rest in a common wardrobe.

"So." Homura started. "How was your work with Sayaka Miki?"

"It cool." Kyoko replied, as she licked a lollypop. "We finish'd at the end."

Then, knowing how those two probably would end , she asked another question. "And what do you think about Sayaka Miki?

"She cool too." Kyoko shrugged.

"I see…" Homura's gaze was lost for a moment, before it went back to Kyoko. "Well, I am leaving. I'll see you later."

"Again?!" Kyoko asked, and pointed her with the lollypop. "If ya do dat every night, I'll start suspectin', yo."

Kyoko could not contain a sly grin, and Homura knew she was talking about her relationship with Madoka. She blushed a little. "Hush." She snapped. "I'll see you later." With that, she left, leaving Kyoko chuckling noisily as she licked her sticky candy.

.

Madoka's eyes flung open once more. "H-Homura-Chan…?" She got no answers, as she lay on her bed, alone in her dark room.

Perhaps, Homura's presence last night had been just a dream. Or perhaps it hadn't, but she would not come back. She didn't have to anyways, after all, she was just someone she had known for a few days. What was she thinking about? Did she really want the ebony to be with her?

She tried to close her eyes, and saw witches and minions again, but also saw the paler girl attempting to fight them, never approaching to help her, perhaps too far away to notice her. The pinkette could not call her, and saw the witch's limbs going to hit her. She opened her eyes again. "H-Homura-Chan!" That name escaped her lips again, and she covered her mouth, for she had been too noisy, and she could not believe she had called her again.

"Did you call me?" The same cold, serene and familiar voice asked.

"A-ah! Y-you came..." Madoka muttered, startled.

"I did." Homura said bluntly. "Because you called me. Do you want me to be here?"

"W-well! I… Y-you don't have to! I… I mean…" She honestly didn't know what to answer, now speaking quickly, in high-pitched whispers.

"I can stay…" The other said. "…like yesterday. Until you fall asleep."

"U-uh… I-isn't that a bother to you?" She asked, looking up at her, her eyes slightly glittering fuchsia, as the other's glimmered lavender.

"I did the same last night. Now sleep."

"G-good night." She closed her eyes, not daring to ask any more questions, and also, deep inside, she liked the ebony's presence beside her.

"Night." The ice-queen replied, just like the night before. Indeed, she would stay for a little while, and then, go back with Kyoko.

The last conversation with Mami had worked: She would penetrate their territory no longer.


	5. Day 5

"Couldn't you visit Kamijou-Kun at the end?"

"Nah, had no time. I was finishing my work with Kyoko, but I'll visit him today, and I'll stay longer."

As the two friends talked, the green-haired girl, Hitomi Shizuki walked silently, and that was something not very frequent.

"Hitomi-Chan…" Madoka looked at her. "Are you okay?"

"Ah, yes. I beg your pardon, I was distracted." The rich girl gave a small, reassuring smile.

"Hm." Sayaka looked at her as well. "Perhaps the last tea ceremony lasted for too long?" She grinned slyly.

" I had classic dance yesterday. Tea ceremony is on Tuesdays." She corrected, ignoring the irony on the bluenette's joke.

"By the way!" Sayaka changed the topic of the conversation. "Was it too hard yesterday?" She asked, glimpses of worry spotted in her voice and corporal language.

"Eh?" Madoka tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you go to hell yesterday?" The blue-haired poked the pinkette's cheek.

"Sayaka-Chan…" She sighed, and smiled softly. "Homura-Chan's house is not hell."

"Oh?" She started walking around her shorter friend. "Didn't you see any ghost? Or bat? Does she hide corpses of virgin maidens under her bed?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Madoka asked, widening her eyes and sweat-dropping. "She has none of those!" The girl then crossed her arms. "The only creature I've seen with her is a kitten." She smiled. "You should have seen her, she was so adorable-"

Sayaka cut her off. "Aaaah… A black cat? So she is a gothic witch?" She looked excited, her joke perhaps going too far.

The pinkette stiffened. Since she had seen true witches, she had forgotten about the witches of the stories for children, and she felt pain when she heard the comparison between Homura Akemi; the girl who fought witches, and the witches themselves; who were worse than what she would have ever imagined. "She… She is not a witch…"She muttered, pouting like a child, unable to find a better answer.

"Well." Sayaka said, scratching the top of her head. "It's harder to know what Kyoko is. She threatened to kill me if I ever wasted food again! I mean… Like if we were so poor the loss of a small chip would cause the worse of the famines!"

"R-really?" Madoka's innocence and sensitivity were shown again.

"Also, she prays before gubbling up a whole mountain of food, tall as Fuji! And she has only read one book: the bible. Isn't it weird all together?!" She looked exasperated.

"Perhaps you misjudged the two transferred students, Sayaka-chan." Hitomi lectured calmly and politely. "The two of you should get to know them better, perhaps you'll find them interesting at the end."

Madoka didn't dare to answer.

"And why don't ya do it yourself, huh?" Sayaka asked, grinning.

"Uh…" Hitomi looked around. "Look! We've arrived at school!"

"Oh!" Madoka looked somewhere else, where, at a short distance, Homura was half-dragging Kyoko, who was trying to run away from the building.

The pinkette smiled. She thought they should not be that bad, deep inside, and the ebony had already proved it to her, her own way.

.

"U-u-unbelievable…" Madoka muttered, holding the papers of their work, marked with an A+. It was break time. She looked around to search for Homura and show her, but the ebony and her sister were already gone. "S-Sayaka-Chan, look!" She held out the paper, excitement filling her small body.

"Well done, Madoka." The bluenette grinned. "Look." Her paper was marked with an A+ too. "That red head is not that stupid at the end."

"I have to go tell Homura! W-we both worked hard on this, and I want to tell her it was nice to work with her!"

"Yeah… I suppose I should tell something like that to Kyoko too…" She chuckled awkwardly.

"Let's go look for them!" Madoka's _kawaii_ eyes showed determination now. She took her best friend by her hand, and started to walk.

.

The music room was empty, and so were the terrace and the roof. They searched in every single corner, class, place they knew, but they found no trace of the two magical girls.

At the end, it was time to go back to class, and they had scarcely eaten.

They entered the room, along with the other students, when Sayaka spotted a glimpse of red.

"Madoka!" This time, she was the one grabbing the other's hand, and she ran to catch up with Kyoko, the pinkette stumbling behind. "You, Christian asshole!" She exclaimed.

The rebel turned around. "Ah, da fuckeen' smurf. Wassup?"

Madoka opened her mouth before those rude nicknames, but no words came, and at the end, she closed it, sweat dropping.

"We've been looking for you! Where were you?! And where is the ghoul?!" The blue-haired girl asked, pointing with a tense finger.

"Ah. I was stealin' food, ya know? And mah sistah, who ain't a ghoul, BTW, felt sick and went home. That' all. Wanted somethin', ya two?"

Before Sayaka started to talk and made things worse, the shorter girl decided to speak first. "W-we just wanted to tell you… That… That it has been very nice to work with you!"

Kyoko looked at her with sharp eyes, and Madoka flinched before her gaze. Suddenly, the red-haired rascal grinned, showing her sharp teeth, her gaze lifting a little to look at the bluenette, her right hand now resting on her hip, her left hand now playing a little with her messy ponytail. "So." She grinned. "Ya wanted tho tell me dat, hu?"

Sayaka blushed a little in shame, feeling her pride slightly wounded. "W-well… More or less, yeah."

"Ah, well, that cute from ya." Kyoko nodded. "It nice to work with ya too, smurf." She complimented back, grinning wider.

The former pouted, grinning back in the insides. "Thank you, compulsive eater."

Madoka, instead of listening to them, was looking worriedly into the magical girl's eyes, wondering what had truly happened to the ebony. The other seemed to notice. Suddenly, she heard her voice in her mind.

"We've been fightin' a witch. Mah sistah has lost an eyeball. She regeneratin', but not fast 'nough tho come back tha school." She told her, using telepathy, as with her mouth, she continued her 'little fight of insults' with Sayaka.

Now that she knew that, the pinkette could notice some scratches in the other's body, and a small bruise above one of her eyebrows.

"Dun't worreh, gurl. She'll be okye"

The magenta-eyed girl gave a small nod, looking downwards.

"Huh? What's wrong, Madoka?" Sayaka asked. "Are you concerned? Don't worry!" She chuckled, patting her friend's back. "Vampires are immortal, so Homu will survive!"

Madoka looked up at her, her eyes glittering as she smiled a little. "She is not a vampire, Sayaka-Chan…"

Then, the teacher came, and the class began. Every desk had a chair and someone sitting on it, but Madoka couldn't help but to repeatedly look at the empty seat the ice-queen had left.

.

"Geez, I hope he's up to visits." The bluenette said, walking towards the hospital door, followed by Madoka.

"I'm sure he will, Sayaka-Chan. … Besides, he really likes to be visited by you." She gave a cute, innocent smile.

"Aaaah. Do you think so?" Sayaka blushed, laughing sheepishly. "But well, I like to visit him too."

"I know…" She looked down with naughty eyes, though, never getting rid of the innocence that characterized her. Suddenly, something near them caught her attention. "H-huh?"

Stabbing a pillar, a grief-seed glimmered black. Madoka remembered Homura keeping them every time she killed a witch, and also, she remembered her explanation. But this time, the grief seed was there, alone. Could it mean that the witch hadn't been born again? Perhaps she would be in time to warn the ebony before the witch hatched and hurt someone. Besides, in that hospital was Kamijou Kyousuke, the boy Sayaka loved. He was in big danger. Anyways, she didn't have the number of the magical girls. How could she contact them? With telepathy, perhaps?

"Madoka, are you okay?" The bluenette asked her friend, whose face was turning red. "Breathe, damn it!"

The pinkette panted. No matter the efforts she made on it, she was unable to use telepathy. "S-sorry…" She sweat-dropped, gulping air.

"What in the world were you trying to do?"

"N-nothing! Just a silly thing…" She giggled awkwardly, the red of her face now caused by a blush instead of the lack of oxygen.

"Hm… Okay."

She kept thinking, until an idea popped inside her mind. She always sat in the waiting room, taking care of Sayaka's stuff. Maybe, it would be okay if this time, she used her mobile phone to contact Kyoko, who had given the bluenette her number. She would never do it again, but this time, it was an emergency.

.

"Don't eat with your hands." Homura said, palming her forehead. "You will touch other stuff with them, and I don't want my items to get sticky with tomato sauce." They were eating too late, for they had been witch-hunting again.

"And ya should uncovah ya'r eye. Ya look weir' with dat bandage."

The ebony sighed. Her eye would be regenerated enough to do so. She removed the white fabric from her face, and once she did so, Kyoko started chuckling.

"Oh mah gawd! Ya look like Herobrine!"

"Tsss…" Homura licked her spoon to watch her reflection on it. It was shapeless, upside down, but she was able to see what she wanted to: her eyeball. It was regenerated, but completely white. The rest of her eye hadn't appeared yet. She was still half-blind.

Suddenly, Kyoko's mobile phone rang, and the red-head picked it up as her sister looked at her with dismay; now it was not only red, but orange with the sauce over it.

"Whadayawant?!"

"Uh… S-sakura-San?" The high-pitched voice at the other side of the phone asked, a little uneasy due to the previous snap.

"Ah, it's ya, pinko. I thought it was da smurf. Ah! Call meh Kyoko, BTW." She spoke as she ate.

"O-okay, Kyoko-Chan…"

"Madoka…?" The raven-haired girl whispered to herself, as she heard her sister's words.

"Whaddayawant, anyway?"

"I… I saw a grief seed in the hospital!" She warned, sounding a little scared.

"Hm. Too bad, dat's not part of our territoreh." Kyoko said. "Da gurl with da big tits will take care of eet." After a small gasp, she snapped to someone else. "Hey, sis, where ya goen?!"

Homura's voice was heard on the background. "I know this witch. I have to go if you want her to be killed."

"H-Homura-Chan?" the fact of hearing her gave relief to the pinkette.

"Dun't go, sis! What 'bout yo' food?!"

"You can eat it yourself." Homura's voice sounded far away now, for she was leaving.

"Pffft." She spoke again to Madoka. "So Homu be comeen. Maybe 'cause da witch is too powerful for da gurl with da big tits? IDK, and I ain't care 'bout Mameh, aniways."

"M-Mami…? Who is Mami?" She was now confused.

"I'm hungreeh, Homu be comeen, BB."

"Beep."

.

Madoka had been waiting for Homura where she had seen the grief seed, though, it was there no longer. She didn't know what happened, but she'd rather wait instead of doing something by herself. She gasped when she saw the ebony running towards her, and she covered her mouth when she was able to see the insides of her left eye, they completely dull.

"H-Homura-chan! I-it disappeared…"

She stopped running, right in front of her. "I know. The witch has been born, but it has hurt no one yet." She then looked at the pillar. "Mami must be there inside already…"

"Who is Mami?" The pinkette asked.

"Mami Tomoe, another magical girl, though, she does not know the dark truth about soul gems." Homura opened the barrier, and entered it, followed by the shorter girl. "If we told her, she would grow insane, so I am keeping it as a secret. Besides, she has been a magical girl for some years, so, even though she lives blinded by the Incubator's lies and tricks, she will act like a cool senior, in a desperate attempt to get rid of her loneliness." She transformed into her magical girl outfit.

"Poor one…" Madoka muttered, looking down, as they walked through a surreal space, surrounded by pills and medicines.

"I want her as an ally, anyways." Homura continued. "I'll tell you why later."

Madoka looked up at her. "C-can I g-grab your hand…?"

Homura suddenly stiffened, as she stopped to walk.

"Th-this place… Is really scary… And I don't want to get lost…" She was fidgeting as she blushed.

Homura hesitated for a moment, but then, keeping her poker face, she held out her pale hand. "Do so, then." She said.

Madoka looked into her lilac eyes, hers glittering as she took it.

They kept walking. Mami had already defeated the minions, so they were able to get in the main room quickly, Homura placing a finger over her lips for the pinkette to be silent.

It all was made of candy, and the yellow magical girl was there, looking in disconcert at the enormous witch, who was opening her mouth to devour her head.

The ebony let go of the other, and used her shield to stop the time. Everything froze around her, and she walked towards the blonde. She preferred not to reveal her time-controlling powers, so she decided to jump against her and push her, releasing the time in the right moment for the witch to bite the air as their bodies met the ground.

"Akemi-San?!" Mami squealed, out of air.

"Ngh." The ebony stood up as fast as she could, filling her hands with grenades from her shield. "Move!" She commanded, as the witch turned around to face them, now angered.

"Ah?" The blonde crawled backwards, the witch already throwing herself against them.

The raven-haired girl pulled out the rings from the grenades, and threw them into the witch's mouth, giving enough time for the big-breasted teenager to hide. They exploded inside the huge creature, and she vomited herself to live, now going to eat Homura. The paler girl kept disappearing before she did so, beckoning the witch far away from the other two girls. In one of those apparitions, she filled the enemy's tongue with bombs.

The witch's body was consumed due to the explosions inside her, she puking herself anew and again, until her body exploded and her grief seed fell into Homura's hand. Everything went back to real.

"Homura-Chan?" The pinkette ran towards her. "You've been amazing!"

She blushed a little bit, and looked at Mami. "I don't give a damn it was your territory, I just wanted to avoid an unnecessary death." She said, flicking her hair.

Mami stood up, trying to recover her dignity. "I was not going to say it. Besides, I must thank you for saving me."

"Oh!" Madoka looked around. "I-I must go back! Sayaka will be waiting for me…"

Homura nodded. Madoka ran back into the hospital and the ebony looked at the blonde again. "I'd like to have a talk with you. It's important."

Mami looked at her blankly for a moment, and then, nodded. At that very moment, she was still processing everything, and it would take her a bit of time. Luckily, she snapped back to reality faster than what was expected, and spoke. "Let's go to my home, then. I can share some cake with you, and we can speak as we drink a cup of tea." Just like in every time line, every time she found the occasion to invite someone to her home and cook for them, she would take a profit of that opportunity, since she hated being alone and lonely.

"… It seems alright to me." She looked deeply into her eyes, as she did with everyone. Despites her size being a little shorter than the blonde's, she seemed older, at least, more mature, stronger, perhaps because of her experience, her security and coldness.

The former gave a calm smile, though her golden eyes did reveal that she was still scared in the insides, and she was carefully controlling her breathing not to show so. "Come along, then."

Even though Homura already knew the address, she walked beside Mami, as if following her, somehow.

.

Mami's home hadn't changed at all. It was pretty big for somebody who lived by herself, but not as big as Homura's. It was beautiful, very well decorated, everything tidied, and it had a faint scent of flowers.

"Please, take a seat." Mami offered, pointing to the crystal table that had the shape of a triangle, colored amber. "I will be right back."

The ebony obeyed, and after a while, the two teenagers were sitting as they politely ate the cake and drunk the tea, their manners completely opposite to Kyoko's.

"You are very good at cooking." Homura complimented coldly.

"Well… I live by myself, so I have to cook every day." The older girl replied, her smile never fading.

The raven-haired nodded. "So do I. But I share my home with my sister, Kyoko Sakura."

Hearing that name made the other's lips quiver a little. "Ah… I see…" Now growing solemn, she looked at Homura. "Well, Akemi-San… What did you want to talk about?" She asked, fully concentrating, though never forgetting the previous scene.

"At the end of this month, the most powerful witch will reveal herself. Her name is Walpurgisnacht."

"…And how do you know that, if I may ask?" The blonde's expression now didn't show suspicion but curiosity.

"That's my business." She said.

"And how powerful is it?" Mami asked.

"Powerful enough not to need a barrier." Homura answered. "By the single fact of revealing herself, she will cause millions of deaths." She then closed her eyes, making a short pause before continuing. "She is so strong a single magical girl cannot defeat her." She lied. Only one could defeat her by herself, but she would never put her into that. "That's why I'd like to propose you something."

"What is it?" The blonde put a small piece of cake inside her mouth.

"Kyoko and I are already a team, but I'd like to make an alliance with you. The more we are, the stronger we will be against her."

"Huh?!" The idea of being in a team where the red head was became harder to process than the fact that she had almost been killed by a witch. "Wh-what do you mean? Does she agree?" She looked extremely nervous now, her fingers slightly tapping the table.

"I haven't told her yet." She said. "But perhaps, she will understand."

"I don't know if it's a good idea…" Mami looked downwards, insecure.

"Is it a better idea to allow the witch to destroy the city?" She asked, bitterness now added to her usual coldness. "Besides… you hate being alone, don't you?"

"H-how do you-?!" Mami's eyes widened, but then, her gaze calmed a little, as she smiled with resignation. "That's another one of those things you mysteriously know... Right?"

Homura looked downwards for a short while.

"…And you are not spying me…"

"Do you even think I have time for that silly thing?" The ebony snapped, the bitterness disappearing, now replaced by darkness.

"I guess not…" Mami let out a soft giggle.

Homura stood up. "Thanks a lot for the meal, Mami Tomoe. It was delicious." Coldness always came along, even with her compliments. "I will tell Kyoko about it. But it's getting late, and I must go now. Good night." She carried her dish and cup towards the kitchen, and then walked towards the door.

"Wait!" Her voice stopped her. "Won't you tell me what you have done to Kyubey and why?"

The ebony hesitated a little, but walked away again, until she went out of the house.

Mami sighed, alone again.

.

"Say whaaat?!" Kyoko asked, exasperated, looking deeply into the ebony's eyes, the left one completely regenerated now.

"You have already heard me. If we want to defeat Walpurgisnacht without Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki making the contract, we will need all the magical girls we can find."

"But why Mameeh?! Not Mameeh!" She shook her head, desperate enough so as not to eat in a short while.

"Do not be childish, my sister." Homura said, remaining as calm as possible. "Perhaps it's the right time for you two to make peace. It will not ruin your 'bad girl' reputation, after all."

"Nggg…" Kyoko groaned, looking down. "Yeah, maybe ya're right." She looked back at the other. "If dere be no other choice, I will. But I won't be her friendo, I'll just be someone who dun't bite, unless she gets… Too closeh."

"Mhm." Homura nodded.

"And dun't expect me to be politeh!" She added.

"You are never polite." Homura said, looking away.

Kyoko could not help but to grin. "Tssss… Yeah."

"So… Is it a deal?" The ebony looked back at her sibling.

"Yeah, I guess." The red head nodded.

"Good." Homura stood up.

"Are ya leavin' again?" Kyoko stood up as well."

"I am. I left a melon in the fridge. Keep me a small slice."

"Okie!" She made a toothy grin.

"Good night." Homura left, disappearing inside the darkness of the empty streets.

.

"Sayaka-Chan is a little depressed… Because Kamijou-Kun's arm won't heal properly…" Madoka talked to herself, hugging her pink stuffed bunny, curled up around it. Her vision hadn't gotten used to the darkness yet, and she thought that, perhaps by talking to herself, she would grow sleepy. She didn't know if Homura was going to come or not, and she found nothing better to do. "Today… Homura-Chan saved another magical girl… A witch was going to eat her…" That image just made her more conscious of how dangerous the witches could be. "Homura-Chan is very good at fighting… But I don't want her to get hurt… Today, she has lost an eye…" She closed her eyes. "I don't want to imagine what would have happened… If Homura-Chan hadn't pushed her aside… Why is everything so scary…?" She covered her face with her blanket, as if that were going to keep her safer. "Maybe… If I made a contract… I could make everyone happy… Safe and sound… But…"

"No, Madoka, no."

Homura's voice surprised her, and she quickly uncovered her eyes, this time able to repress her squeal. "H-Homura-Chan?"

Her eyes glimmered with worry. Was Madoka dreaming or was the ebony finally showing an emotion? "Don't forget what I told you. You would end drowned in the deepest and strongest despair… And you would cause a harm equal to the good actions you made."

"R-right…" Madoka lowered her gaze. "I haven't told Sayaka-chan about this… It's okay this way, r-right…?"

"It is." The ebony nodded. "The fewer implicated people, the better."

Madoka made a small smile, knowing she had made the right choice.

"But please…" Homura said, cold and emotionless again. "Forget about making the contract, if you don't want to turn into a horrible witch."

The pinkette looked downwards again. "It's just that… I cannot help but to feel useless… I see a lot of sorrow around me, and I can do nothing about it…" She looked sad and pained.

"Look…" The ebony said, her lavender eyes stabbing the other as a sword stabs an enemy. "…you might not believe that… but you actually do a lot."

"Huh?" Madoka widened her eyes, and blinked.

"You are kind, always care about everyone around you… You try your best at everything, no matter what. You never do anything with bad intentions, showing you are an empathic girl. You are innocent and incorruptible, and deny yourself for the sake of those you love." Homura sighed. "You are too kind for your own good…" Before Madoka's astonished silence, she looked away. "What I am trying to say is that you try your best to help, and even though you don't realize it, you succeed many times, making the other feel better, showing them you love them and care… Anyone would wish to have a friend like you. And those unable to appreciate your efforts or see how worthy you are, they just don't deserve you."

"Homura-Chan…" She would have never expected the ice-queen to say that, and even though she was still cold and emotionless, she believed she meant it. Perhaps the others were wrong about her, or perhaps, inside that enormous wall of dark ice she had built, there was a sweet heart. Would she ever grow to reach it? "I… D-don't know what to say…" She murmured, blushing.

The ebony's face was all reddened, but the darkness masked it. "Forget about it." She snapped coldly. She was already regretting everything in shame. Perhaps telling her that opinion had been going too far, but she couldn't help it. The fact that Madoka always underestimated herself and criticized herself broke her frozen heart. "I am here, so sleep."

Madoka didn't dare to say a thing about it, but she would never forget what had just happened. "Good night, Homura-Chan…" She muttered, before closing her eyes, starting to breathe peacefully.

"Night." The purple magical girl answered, as usual, but this time after a low sigh, coming from indescribable emotions no one would ever know about.


	6. Day 6

Everything around her was painted pink, as sunlight filled her room, her eyes sleepily opening. Just like every day since Homura had started to come and help her to sleep, in the morning, there was no trail of her, as if she had never been there.

Madoka looked at the notebook over her table. She hadn't been able to show it to the ebony when they dated, and the last day, she had just forgotten to find an occasion for it to happen.

She knew the raven-haired hadn't looked at it when she came, perhaps because of her lack of curiosity, or perhaps because she was not one to look at others' stuff with no permission. Or maybe both things.

The pinkette felt a little dizzy, and then she remembered she hadn't turned off her alarm clock. She did so, feeling a sudden relief when silence filled the room. She sighed and stood up; she would have to hurry up, as usual, if she didn't want to be late at school, and this time, she would carry her drawings with her.

She then went down stairs, thinking she would find her father and little brother awake, but she found no one. She looked around in confusion, until the calendar called her attention: it was Saturday.

Madoka buried her face in her hands, almost face-palming herself. She had forgotten to unplug her alarm clock, and she would not be able to sleep again. At least, she had managed to sleep another night, and that brought her happiness, but also, something else to think about; since her dreams were so odd and felt so strong inside her, she would try to remember what had she dreamed about last night.

She sat in the sofa, her legs crossed, and she closed her eyes, trying to concentrate, trying to taste again the few emotions she remembered she was feeling before she was suddenly awaken. After a small while, she started to catch some glimpses.

"H-how about... We become monsters together..?" The same weak voice she had dreamed about two days ago, the same sentence, but it seemed to continue, she remembered more. "And we can tear up this rotten world together... Until there is no more evil... No more sadness... Until there's nothing left... We'll break and smash and pound it into dust..." Madoka's breathing started to become shaky. She had never heard that voice, though it somehow was familiar to her, but she was unable to associate it to whom it belonged, in that very moment. "Wouldn't that... Be great...?" She remained motionless, suddenly feeling a huge despair inside her being, and small tears starting to form in her eyes. The only image she could remember was blurry, a weak someone, with black, long braids and red glasses. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed like silently crying. Why was it all so unfamiliar, and familiar to her at the same time?

She kept trying to remember more, but all she could do was stepping over the same memory again and again, and it hurt too much to continue. She shook those thoughts away, and decided to prepare breakfast for everyone.

Since it was far too soon, she ate her part, got dressed with a white, long-sleeved t-shirt and a pink skirt, white tights and red shoes, and then left a small note in her father's dish, saying she was taking a small walk.

Madoka had never tried to walk that soon, and streets looked different, a little colder, more silent, and yet, the air smelled fresh and new.

She walked through streets she knew, and they led her towards a park she used to play at when she was a child, and now, she carried Tatsuya for him to do as she did some years ago.

Suddenly, she remembered that once, when she was little, she saw a figure, similar to her dream's in a swing: a child of her age, taller, yet extremely pale, thin and weak. She looked sick, swinging slowly and sadly. She was wearing red glasses, and long, black braids, and she remembered her wearing purple pijamas and some kind of a strange machine tied in her wrist. She seemed to be from the hospital, that was right in front of the park.

Perhaps her subconscious had just decided to bring that girl back to her dreams, and perhaps it had decided to bring Madoka there now, for some reason too. Subconscious was so mysterious sometimes, or at least she had heard that from wise people like her grandmother.  
Then, she looked at the hospital, remembering the exact spot where she had found the grief seed. That would have been Mami Tomoe's grave, and so many people's, if Homura hadn't gotten there in time.

The pinkette felt glad and proud; calling Kyoko had been the right thing to do, but she then sighed when she remembered she still didn't have Homura's number. She would find the right occasion to get it and give her hers, just like the perfect moment to show her her pink notebook.

Suddenly, she realized she had been carrying it all the time, and decided to sit on a bench, to look at her own drawings.

They were cute, kind of naive and childish, but well done considering she hadn't had a model to base herself on but her memories. She really wished Homura liked them.

Then, she looked up, and saw a familiar cat mewing towards someone, and sitting down.

.

The girl's eyes didn't open but widened as she woke up, sitting up at the highest speed. No light filled her room, and every shadow seemed alive, dancing around her, smirking, whispering, mocking at her. She had no air to breathe, some tangle inside her throat was choking her. Her head hurt, her heart beat as if it wanted to emerge from her chest, and her face was all wet with all the tears she had shed as she slept, a sleep that had only lasted for three hours, the first one since she had passed out in an alley that night.

In that state, she looked weak like a corpse, not only because of her paleness, that turned into a shade of red in her cheeks, and below her eyes down the weight of her tears. She violently shook, covering her mouth with a beautiful, yet bony hand; she was really thin, her body not completely recovered from a life in the hospital, and yet, it was a strong body, with firm muscles, and an intimidating presence. But when she was like she was now, defenseless, she looked again like that girl she had once been, long, long ago.

She needed to scream, but denied herself that wish. She forbade herself to cry, and then made an agonizing sob, hugging herself like she usually did in the past, like she saw Madoka doing so often when she was scared.

No. The girl she loved couldn't just see her like this. Her face would twist in extreme confusion and worry, and she didn't want that to happen.

Everyone feared her, saw how strong she was, and Madoka was the first one to believe it, the first one, and probably the only one, to feel safe by her side. She didn't need to prove her strength to anyone... But herself.

Silence. She became as motionless as everything else in the room, as the shadows should be if her mental health was not so damaged. Hadn't she cleaned her Soul Gem after the last witch-hunt with her sister? Indeed she had. She would always keep it clean, not for her own sake. She would do it only for the pinkette. But not even a million grief seeds would free her from the hell sleeping meant. Luckily, she was not a human, and could afford to do it only in the weekends. It was not enough, not even to magical girls, but to her, it was more than that.

With firm gestures, she dried the tears from her face and stood up, walking like a soldier, flicking her hair behind her. Reaffirming herself was always a good reminder of her ideals, and what she fought for, and why, and the fact that she would keep on fighting, hiding her emotions until they became forgotten, or at least, many of them.

But she would never forget everything she had felt for Madoka.

She was neither able to forget what she felt about her sister, her comrade, her... friend. Even though she would sometimes punch her in the nose, she still somehow appreciated that red head that had fought beside her in most of the time lines.

She saw her in the sofa, snoring as she slept, half a hot dog stuck inside her mouth. She felt the temptation to poke her with a stick, but preferred to keep walking. She would get ready and hunt some more witches and minions until the sun started to rise, and then, she would go feed Amy. She had kept some milk and meat for her inside her shield.

Perhaps the only moments when she used the door were when dating with Madoka to finish their work and when going to school and coming back from it, for Kyoko and her usually came out from the roof and jumped from building to building when they went to fight. It was faster, and also, a good warming.

Hours passed as she battled around the city, and then ran to search for more rivals. The only thoughts she allowed her head to have were Madoka, Amy and the enemies. It had been a good rest to forget about Kyubey for a few days, because the little Incubator just made things worse. Also, she sometimes remembered about previous fights in other time lines against the same witches, reviving the strategies to kill them, which one was more effective, which one was a loss of time... And the girls that had been inside the barrier with her.

Every time line offered a million possibilities, and each possibility offered a million more, so no time line was like the other, though many things, the fates, the bases, the consequences, they scarcely varied.

Sunlight then started to fill the city, and the streetlights started to become worthless, they being turned off. The ebony's soul gem turned into a ring, her magical girl outfit fading, and she walked, now the food for the little stray cat inside a plastic bag. She wore a black, long-sleeved dress with some white buttons in the neck, white tights and black boots.

Near the hospital, she heard the familiar meow that called to her, and she turned around to see the dark fur ball running towards her. It stopped at her feet, and meowed again.

"Good morning, Amy." She answered coolly, with a nod.

The she-cat started to pad away, leading her somewhere else. She sometimes did that, like all cats, she was picky, and she liked to decide where to have her meal.

Homura followed her calmly, narrowing her purplish eyes when they came out of the alleyways, as a little more light bathed them.

They walked near the hospital, and then, the feline started to run, heading towards the park.

The raven-haired did not fasten her rhythm, so she had the kitten meowing for her to hurry up as it sat down, until she finally reached it.

She knelt and put a bowl on the ground, filled it with milk, and put the meat in a dish, after braking it into little pieces. She then looked around as Amy ate; that was the last park she played at, doing what she usually did in her non-childhood, swinging slowly in an attempt to imagine herself flying, as if all the problems that had caught her since she was born were nonexistent. Her face remained as inexpressive as usual, unable to feel anything anymore about the memories she had from before she woke up in the hospital, fifteen already, when she was going to get out from there and start a new life. Now that she thought about it, it truly had been a new life, a life she would have never imagined, the beginning of a new story that seemed to be eternal.

Her expression did only change when that voice, the reason of her still fighting every day, called her name from a bench near there.

"Homura-chan!" Madoka stood up and ran towards her, holding a pink notebook with her hands, a small yet bright smile in her face.

"Good morning, Madoka Kaname." She greeted, as she stood up. She hadn't expected the pinkette to be an early bird like herself.

"Please, just call me Madoka. Madoka is fine." She said, smiling wider, and then, before the black-haired girl's permanent gaze, her usual shyness came back again. "H-how are you today, Homura-chan?" She asked.

"I'm fine." She lied, as she always did. Though anyways, she'd feel better soon, at least a little warmer, for she was now beside the pinkette. It would never be close to 'fine', but it was the closest thing to it she was able to feel. "How are you, Madoka?"

The fact that she now called her by her first name made the pink-haired girl feel a little bit more confident, and happy that the other had done it with no hesitations. "I'm good, thank you!" Amy meowed towards her, and she crouched down to stroke her head. "Good morning, Amy-chan!"

"Meow~!"

Homura crouched down too. If Amy remembered her from all the time lines, she would remember Madoka as well. No wonder why she had been so nice to her from the beginning. She then remembered about the first time Amy and her met. If that was the reason, then why had the cat been so close to her?

Perhaps because they had a lot in common.

The she-cat concentrated again on its food, and Madoka looked at Homura with glittering eyes, but her smile faded when she saw again some bruises in her body. "You've been fighting again, right, Homura-chan?" She asked worriedly.

"I woke up soon." She said. "And had nothing else to do. It's okay this way too, and the city will be clean for a while."

The shorter girl didn't know if she should keep commenting about this subject. The other didn't seem tired, but she was still concerned. Perhaps she should just relax a bit, since the ebony always seemed to have everything under her control. She then smiled again when an idea hatched in her mind. "Homura-chan?"

The other turned around to her, answering with a mere "Hm?".

"W-well... I was taking a walk so... Would you like to walk with me?" She asked, bashful again. She hadn't expected herself daring to ask Homura something like that, and the dark-haired always refused all the offers from the others... But hers.

"Alright." She replied coldly, and then looked down at her furry little friend. "Once she is done, if you don't mind." She could afford going with Madoka, for she had already hunted today, Kyoko would sleep like a pig until midday and the meeting with her and Mami would be in the afternoon.

Madoka brightened. "Okay!" And then, she looked down at Amy too. "Will you come with us too, little one?"

"Meooow.~" It started lo lick itself after it had finished all the food it had.

"She will catch up." Homura said, keeping the dish and the bowl inside the same plastic bag that, in a single second, was suddenly gone.

The pinkette blinked several times, and then nodded. "Have a good time cleaning yourself." She stroke the little animal, which gave another meow in response and kept on licking its fur, and then stood up.

"See you later, Amy." The ebony stood up too and looked at Madoka. "Shall we go now?"

"S-sure!" The pink-haired girl nodded.

.

They hadn't counted the time they had been walking together. Minutes? A couple of hours? The sun had had enough time to arise, and now it shone stronger. The streets were agitated with people.

The two girls were again on a bench, near the way to school. Madoka couldn't wait anymore, and she felt as though as if she would never have an opportunity as good as this one. She swallowed saliva and looked at the other, who was following a butterfly with her lilac eyes. The pinkette smiled. "Homura-chan?"

Her eyes traveled fast from the small bug to the human girl, their speed and strength contradicting the calm of her voice, yet both things were cold and distant. "Yes, Madoka?" She asked in reply.

"W-well..." The shorter girl blushed a little, feeling slightly nervous, but then, she looked up at her again, at least, at her mouth, because she still found herself unable to look at her eyes. "I wanted to... To show you something."

"Oh?" The ebony lightly tilted her head, her black hair mounting a little over her shoulder as she did so. "And what is it?"

Madoka handed her notebook. "Here."

The raven-haired hesitated a little bit but then took it, as carefully as if it were made of porcelain. There was a small doodle in the cover, where the pinkette was dressed as a magical girl. Homura's eyes widened a little, for it was just the way it would look like in reality. Perhaps Madoka did still remember something, or at least, intuit something?

Her eyes then went upwards a little, to read the printed writing on it. 'Campus Note', it said, in white script.

She decided to open it by the first page. It was full of scraps and doodles, and the pinkette giggled sheepishly when the ebony's view ran over the scratched drawings, but Homura said nothing. She just looked.

There were more drawings of Madoka, practicing with her bow and doing cute stuff. There were also chibi Sayakas, dressing like magical girls too, and again, the similarities between the drawings and what the bluenette would look like in reality astonished her.

But what truly surprised her was what she found some pages later; Madoka had drawn her too. The chibi, purple-inked Homura stood imposingly, looking at somewhere, with her emotionless yet serious expression. Was that the way she looked like when she hunted witches?

There were a few more drawings where she used naive guns and weapons, and then, there was Mami too, with her shotguns.

The smaller girl had also drawn the witches she had seen, and small fighting scenes. In a childish, comic style, she had drawn the ebony, blowing the smoke from a gun as Izabel's minions laid dead, and also, when Gertrud had grabbed her by her ankle. There was also the scene where she pushed Mami, sending her away from Charlotte's teeth.

And then, there were imaginary fighting scenes, where the four of them battled imaginary witches.

And after a few more pages, blank. She hadn't filled them yet.

"W-well..." Madoka murmured. She had been studying Homura's face as she looked at her illustrations, trying to find any glimpse of an expression, but failing at it. "Wh-what do you think?"

Homura closed the notebook, lifting her gaze now lost in the horizon. Deep inside, she was now dealing with all the emotions she had just been through, and they were too strong, too confusing... She would have to give the pinkette an answer, never revealing how she felt in the insides, but never disappointing her too. Her drawings had truly touched her, and she wanted to kind of compliment her, somehow, her own way. She tried to think the fastest she could, attempting not to make a too long silence, so Madoka would not suspect, but trying as well to find the best words to say without making mistakes, nor damaging her ice-queen reputation.

"I like them." She said coldly, as if not caring much, but caring at the same time. Why was everything so complicated and easy at the same time to someone like her? And then, she blinked, looking at Madoka with her imposing, gelid stare.

The pinkette's eyes were widening in grateful surprise, as a smile was starting to bloom in her face. "Y-you mean it? D-do you really like them?" She couldn't believe she had earned words like _those_ from Homura, who apparently had lost her interest in most of existing things, and all the imaginary ones.

Homura blinked again, intensifying her stare. "What would I gain by lying to you, Madoka?"

The shorter girl's smile was complete now. If she had been more self-confident, she would have hugged the dark-haired girl, but she was not confident at all, and she still felt out of her comfort zone beside the other, for she had no experience in dealing with someone like this. Surprisingly, now she anyways felt closer to her.

"Thank you, so very much, Homura-chan!" She said, the other's answer being just a mere nod. Would she be able to consider her... her friend? Perhaps asking would be the solution, she innocently thought.

"Homura-chan..." She asked, when the other girl returned her her notebook. "Are... Are we friends?"

Her lavender eyes closed, as she difficultly swallowed the pungent grief that had stabbed her with those words. Again, she hid everything she felt, and, straightening her posture, she looked deeply into Madoka's eyes. "It depends on what the word 'friendship' means to you." Where did she find the strength to answer so boldly, so resolute, cold, distant? Perhaps in Madoka herself, and the wish she had to be strong enough to protect her.

"A-ah?" Again, Homura's blunt, yet enigmatic answer had left her totally _in albis_. "W-well... I-it means to appreciate someone! T-to... To know you can count on them, a-and they can count on you... I-it's about mutual trust a-and well-being:" Madoka found herself able to explain, since, as a friend of her friends, she always did her best. At least, the meaning of 'friendship' was one of the things she knew. If Homura didn't, she wondered how empty her life had been.

"I see..." Homura answered, almost in a whisper, but her voice recovered its strength and firmness when she spoke again. "And, do _you_ want _us_ to be friends?"

The smaller girl's eyes widened a little. "O-of course! I-I mean... It wouldn't be wrong... Right?"

The ebony looked away again. "Then, I guess I can be your... friend." The word felt heavy and painful in her tongue, heartrending and distressful in her heart, as it filled her mind with memories, so faint, and yet, so vivid.

Madoka's smile came back as quickly as it had faded before, and she brightened again. She was so sensitive, and so expressive... It was impossible to make her keep the same expression for more than a minute. "I-I am so glad then, Homura-chan!" She felt the temptation to hug her again, and once more, she denied it to herself. Would at least that answer of hers mean that she would feel uncomfortable with her no longer? Even an innocent mind like hers was powerful enough to dominate her, just like it happened to everyone, she guessed. That was why she found Homura's stoicism so admirable.

"Meow!" The she-cat jumped towards the ebony's face, but her reflexes made her catch her in time.

"No, Amy, no." She sighed, as she gently placed her over her lap, earning a cute, high-pitched giggle from the other girl, who stroke the little animal as soon as she could.

"Do you want to hold her?" The magical girl asked.

"C-can I...? I-I mean... Yes, please!" As she held the black fur ball close, she looked so warm Homura couldn't help but to wish for a moment that she could switch places with the cat. Completely ashamed of herself, she quickly threw away that idea, and mentally lectured herself, as harsh as she could.

"You two do really have a lot in common..." Madoka whispered.

"Huh...?" That caught the ebony by surprise.

"A-ah, nothing!" She smiled awkwardly. She would have to work on that habit of expressing her thoughts out loud. Luckily, she got no answers. Suddenly, she looked at her watch. "A-ah, I must go! Pa- … My parents will be worried!" She stood up, carefully placing the fluffy creature back on Homura's lap.

"Hm? Alright. Farewell."

"See you!" She hurried away, but, in the middle of her way home, she noticed she had forgotten to give Homura her number. " _Baka baka baka baka baka baka baka baka baka baka bakaaaaa..._ " She scolded herself along the rest of her path.

.

"Kyoko. … Kyoko. … Kyoko. … Kyoko. … Kyoko." Nothing seemed to wake her sister up, so Homura decided to, since it was midday already, take a whole pre-cooked roast chicken from her fridge and warm it, and then swing it before the red head's nose. It worked, and Kyoko quickly snapped her eyes open and bit the food like a predator, the grip of her jaw being strong enough to rip it off the ebony's hands.

"Gomomim'." She said, her mouth too occupied to vocalize.

"It's not morning." She said, coolly yet calmly. "It's a quarter past two."

Kyoko took the chicken with her hands -Homura has her reasons not to give her a dish- and swallowed. "Alreadeh?" She asked, not too thrilled. She had sometimes slept until three o'clock, or further if she could.

"Indeed." The raven-haired replied. "Get ready. Remember we have a... difficult afternoon." She was talking more about Mami and Kyoko than about herself. The afternoon was indeed wearisome, but it would also be hard, for there would be a constant tension floating between those two.

"Uhú." She kept eating, trying not to think about that until the moment came. "Have ya eaten anyway'?"

"..." She sighed. "Yes."

"What?" Kyoko asked, thinking that her sister was too thin, or else, too afraid to fatten.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to just skip that question, Homura chose to reply with the truth. "I ate soon, and had some _ramen_ , since I had no time to cook, for I came late from the street."

"Aaaaaaah." She nibbled, chewed (a little) and swallowed. "And where did ya go?"

"To feed Amy." She looked away.

"Onleh dat?" Kyoko smirked slyly, small crumbs of chicken in her teeth, and repeated the tucking in process once more.

"Why are you so curious today?" Homura asked, a little annoyed, hoping she did not blush as she barely did other times.

Kyoko's grin became wider. "Haven't ya found a certain pinkieh BTW?"

"...Are you having fun?" Homura asked, closing her eyes.

The red-haired rascal shrugged as she ate. "Tryen' to. If ya dun't wanna talk 'but dat, just tell meh."

Was it really that easy? "Okay, I don't want to talk about that right now."

"'Kay."

Sometimes, Kyoko was still able to surprise her, even after all those time lines by her side. She decided to keep her guard up, from now on.

.

"Beeeep. Beeeep. Beeeep."

Madoka tightly held onto her mobile phone, as she was waiting for Sayaka to take it. "Come on..." She whispered nervously.

"Hallo?" A tired voice replied the call.

"S-sayaka-chan? H-how are you feeling?" The pinkette answered, her voice never hiding the concern that filled her.

"I'm okay, I guess?" She tried to laugh as usual, but it seemed too forced, and the bluenette knew it. Her chuckle broke into a sigh. "...Or not that much." She recognized, imagining her childhood friend's doubtful face.

"I-It's still about Kamijou-Kun... Right?" She asked.

"Well." Sayaka made another sigh, this one shaky. "You know? He was such a talent... The way he played the violin, felt the music... It was everything to him! He had... Gold in his hands. It should have happened to me, whose hands are useless..."

"D-don't say that!" Madoka exclaimed. "It should just have happened to no one!" She hated Kamijou's fate, but could never take having her best friend at the hospital.

"...If... If there was a way to heal him... Some kind of... A miracle..." Her words made the pinkette bite her lips. "He said it himself... Only a miracle could heal him. And I don't believe in childish things as fairy tales... What could I say to cheer him up?"

"B-but there must be a way..." She murmured, holding her secret inside. She knew the price to pay, and she didn't want to put someone she appreciated that much into that fatality.

A third sigh. "There is no way, Madoka... The doctor said it himself." Then, even though her friend would not see it, a sad, small smile touched her lips. "Thank you, anyways... For worrying and trying to help. You truly are a good friend."

" _What I am trying to say is that you try your best to help, and even though you don't realize it, you succeed many times, making the other feel better, showing them you love them and care…_ " Homura's words from last night still echoed in her head. Perhaps she was right, but it still hurt badly that, even though she soothed the pain, she didn't fix the situation. "Y-you are my friend, Sayaka-chan! I'd do a-anything for you, you know..." She wondered if the same ebony who told her that had been through that same situation.

The other let out a small, thankful yet depressed laugh. "I think I'll have a shower now, let's see if I can refresh my own head and thoughts too... Thanks again, Madoka."

Madoka had enough time to say goodbye before the familiar "beep" of a hung up mobile phone was the only thing she heard. She decided to doodle, so as to calm herself down, but as she drew in the paper of her notebook, her mind just flew away, mostly reviving different, random memories from last week.

.

The sun was still bright but lowered, indicating it was afternoon already, that in a few hours it would set, and that in a few minutes Mami Tomoe and Kyoko Sakura would have to _try_ to work in teams. It would really be emotionally hard for those two, and Homura feared she would have to, sooner or later, waste a lot of energy in handling them both.

If the ebony closed her eyes, she was surrounded by a peaceful silence in the old, lonely alleyways, except for some car heard in the distance, or the cracking sounds of Kyoko nibbling at her pockys non stop.

Suddenly, she was also able to hear steps, and her now opened lavender eyes moved to gaze at the familiar figure of the approaching blonde.

"Good afternoon, you two." She greeted, politely, making the best of her efforts to hide her feelings. Homura had a lot to teach her, for the older girl had less experience on that, and she was unable to hold it on for too long. However, both their masks were different, one cold, inexpressive, distant yet threatening; the other, warm, sweet, with a little smile and a kind gaze. Just as night and day.

Though everything felt the same cold to Homura.

Everything but Madoka.

"Good afternoon, Mami Tomoe." She greeted back.

"Yo." Kyoko licked her lips, after swallowing the last portion inside her mouth.

The first uncomfortable silence, and Mami was tempted to greet again to fill it, but it would be just too awkward. The three girls desperately looked for words, anything, and the more seconds passed, the more the tension grew. At the end, as expected, Homura took the reins of the situation, standing up and flicking her hair behind her, to call the others' attention, just as to prepare and firearm herself as well.

"Well, you both know why we are here." She said, and looked at the red head and the blonde with her piercing eyes. "As a beginning of our alliance plan against Walpurgisnacht, we will start by doing patrols and hitch-hunting together, so we get to know each other's fighting style..." She was obviously talking about Kyoko to know Mami's, and Mami to know theirs. "...and so we can make our own strategies." She hadn't added 'trust' to her initial speech, since she would only earn a sarcastic and scorn scoff from her sister, and an uneasy frown from the other.

"It seems a good idea to me." The big-breasted agreed, nodding softly, and looking then at Kyoko, daring to be the first who broke the silence between the two of them. "What do you think, Sakura-san?"

Kyoko looked at her from over her shoulder. "I ain't gonna question mah sistah. She know 'bout eet." Her voice was sharp and distant.

Perhaps it had been the wrong question to start with.

"W-well, then... A-Akemi-San?" Mami turned to look at Homura.

The ebony looked at her ring, perfectly able to read her name on it, written in runes, and see the small purple pearl near the palm of her hand. With a swift gesture, the ring turned into the egg-shaped gem and was grabbed by its owner. "We happen to be lucky." She said, not too loudly. "The first witch is pretty near from us." And so, she turned to follow its trace.

"Wha' ya be waitin' for, Mameh?" The red head followed after her sister, and a second later, she was already walking by her side.

Mami shook her head. "Wait!" She followed them, and at the end, she was walking beside Homura too.

The raven-haired repressed an exasperated sigh. Surrounded by them, she thought it would be harder than she had hoped.

"You have the honor, Kyoko." She said, as they stood right in front of the barrier, after they had transformed into their characteristic fighting outfits.

"He." The rascal grinned, and tightened the grip of her spear before opening the invisible 'gates' with a large gash.

They headed inside.

The surroundings were filled with a stench of alcohol, in a black space with dots and decorations, painted in several different colors. The sound of stamping attracted their attention upwards, where an enormous pair of legs inside a hanging cage hit its floor, trying to scare away some stupid birds that uselessly attempted to woo her, and they could only increase her rage. They saw the runes near her.

"Sissy." Kyoko called. "What their names?"

Homura didn't even have to look at the runes; she perfectly remembered from other time lines. "Roberta, and the annoying birds are named Gotz."

Mami's eyes widened in surprise. In all those years, she had never wondered how would witches and minions be named, or what would those runes mean. Perhaps it was true and she was an ignorant, and she knew less than what she thought.

Second time she shook her head that day to send thoughts to the back of her mind; there were more important things to do.

"So, what's the plan?" She then asked.

Homura hadn't thought about it because she had defeated her by herself many times. She quickly tried to think about those first time lines, when Madoka, Mami and she were a team. Those memories hurt badly, but they were useful in moments like those. She breathed deeply to ease herself, keeping her eternal mask on her face. "The witch can't move from there. Let's call the attention of the minions first, let them come to us and then take them off. The witch will be our second target."

"Ha! Leave dat to me!" Kyoko jumped forwards, and after spinning around her spear, she loudly hit it against some random metallic item on the ground. "Hey birdieeeeeeees! Wha' is biggah, yar beek or yar ass?!"

The minions suddenly stopped to a halt on the air, and aggressively looked at them, and then headed towards them, swift and sharp as bullets.

"Careful, girls!" Mami warned, acting like the senior she was not.

Homura just prepared her shield, allowing Kyoko to answer for them both.

"We already know dat, yo!" She exclaimed, tightening the grip of her spear. She jumped forwards and upwards, the different parts of her spears separating, they connected by chains, and then she started to hit the birds, sending some towards the other two girls, cutting those who touched the extremely sharp blade.

The blonde was already prepared with six of her muskets floating in front of her. She shot those who were sent against her, yellow bullets causing tiny explosions, a yellowish-white light filling the space she occupied.

The black-haired handled hers, a gun in each of her hands, a careful yet fast aim, the same quick reflexes that would make her able to protect the one she loved in an extreme situation. "Kyoko! I need you to cut the chain that keeps the cage hanged!" She called, once she was done.

"Okie dokie!" The other ran and jumped along more random, big objects and statues to approach her target, which was too high to reach with a single bounce.

"Mami." Homura then calmly walked towards the blonde. "Once the cage starts to fall, we both will shoot at her." She made a small pause. "Use your 'Tiro Finale'." It was hard for her to say the names without them sounding strange, and so nostalgic in her tongue, but only to her. Without waiting for an answer, she pulled a missile launcher out of her time-controlling weapon.

"Uh-!" The other just assumed it would be worthless to ask her how she knew that too and then prepared her enormous cannon made of ribbons.

"Dere we go!" With a single yet strong hit of the blade of her now one-pieced spear, she broke the chain, and the countdown for the other two girls to shoot begun.

"Now."

"Tiro- Finale!"

The barrier faded in an explosion that made the magical girls close their eyes, and only opened them when they heard the familiar clinging of the grief seed against the ground.

"Oh. There is another enemy." Mami started to follow the shine in her soul gem when a strong hand grasped her shoulder.

"Someone liek ya should know it be a minion, not a witch." Kyoko stopped her, as the ebony picked the grief seed up from the ground, and kept it in one of her pockets to share it later.

"Don't tell me you still think it's useless to leave minions be." Her usual smile was nowhere to be seen. "Think about the people they can hurt! And even worse when they turn into a witch!"

The red head bit her lips, keeping herself from revealing the truth about soul gems and grief seeds, and also from bursting into chuckles. "Minions 're week! We can kill 'em once we spilt up! Witches 're worse, more dangerous! Haven't ya thought 'bout dat?"

Before Mami could think of an answer, Homura was already in the middle of the discussion. "I think Kyoko is right, Mami Tomoe. We should go for witches, and kill the minions once we are by ourselves again."

The blonde hesitated, but then gave a nod. "As long as we kill them, it'll be fine to me, Akemi-San, Sakura-San."

If she were an expressive girl, Homura would have sighed in relief. Knowing them, this argument would have ended worse, and she knew the tension between those two hadn't been solved... yet.

.

The hours of the afternoon were slowly devoured by the jaws of time as they walked around the city in search for witches. They killed four before the sunset begun.

"You know?" Mami asked, after politely accepting the two grief seeds the ebony handed her. "It has been a good hunting session... Perhaps we could do it more often."

Homura looked at her, and Kyoko shrugged.

"Perhaps..." She voiced her thoughts out loud." We could be friends again. Sakura-san."

The raven-haired clicked her tongue, knowing that the blonde was playing with fire.

"Nah, I'm afraid not." The red-haired girl lightly shook her head, as she searched for some treat inside the pockets of her scarlett outfit.

"Why not?" The blonde answered with another question.

"Cuz things have changed, and ya know dat." Kyoko answered, trying to leave that subject be, and give no details.

A new rage suddenly grew inside the big-breasted's heart, emerging from a feeling she had kept locked during those last few years. "Well, Sakura-san." She said, her voice now cold, though, never as much as Homura's. "It has never been my fault your father murdered all your family and killed himself." She snapped firmly, earning a burning stare from the rascal's widened eyes. "I tried to help you... And you pushed me away!"

"Don't..." Kyoko whispered, her eyes now completely opened, as she started to breathe heavily. "Don't ya dare tho name 'em!" She aggressively aimed her spear at the former's neck, lightly touching her skin, drawing a tiny droplet of a deep red blood. "Do dat again and I'll kill ya!"

"But we have to talk about it!" She insisted. "That's a subject we have never solved, and we have to!"

Kyoko growled, obviously loosing her patience.

"It was not my fault!" She repeated. "You didn't let me help you and just left! Carried your grief alone! Left me worried about you, alone as well! Is that what your parents would have wanted?!"

"SHUT UP!" The red-head roared, pulling her spear backwards, and then swinging it forwards again, with all her strength.

"Stop!" Mami shoot in a desperate attempt to block the weapon, unable to dodge again.

But none of them was hurt.

The two girls opened their eyes and gasped, as they saw what, or rather _who_ was standing between them.

No changes in her expression, no winces of pain, just a face as calm and cold as a dreamless, sleeping girl's. No sounds but a sigh. The ebony straightened her hunched spine and flicked her long, beautiful hair, carelessly. Her eyes still closed, she pulled the blade of the spear away from between her ribs, in her right side. After pushing it away, she sank her fingers deep inside the hole in left right shoulder, and pulled the yellow bullet, now red with her blood. She looked at it, and then effortlessly dropped it onto the floor. The two old friends, now seemingly rivals, were wordless, as two red spots bloomed as flowers, staining Homura's clothes. "Mami Tomoe, go to your house. Kyoko, go home." She commanded. "You two need to think about what happened, if we want to make an alliance." She didn't wait for any answer, just started to walk away.

Silently, after some minutes of standing, the other two obeyed, even though who had given them those commands was already gone.

.

The tiny teenager had to cool down, and she knew that. Perhaps her parents would let her take a late walk, since it was Saturday. She went downstairs and there they were, watching TV, as her  
little brother doodled in a paper. Once he noticed her, an enormous smile appeared in his face, as he lifted his drawing for her to see it.

"Maroka, look!"

She patted his head and nodded in approval with one of her sweet and gentle smiles, before she turned to face her parents, as the toddler went back to his sketching. "Papa, mama, may I go out for a small walk?"

"Hm... Sure, honey, but don't go too far. It's dark, and it can be dangerous for a little girl." Her mother, Junko, grinned.

"I am not a little girl anymore." The pinkette pouted, but once she earned an allowing nod and another grin from her father, she smiled again. "Thanks, I won't be back too late." She took her mobile phone, a pencil and her notebook, and then she went to the street, just like this morning.

The air was fresh again, yet some would describe it as 'a little cold'. Spring nights were like this, and she was glad she was wearing now her unbuttoned, pale pink jacket over her t-shirt.

The girl allowed herself to zone out for a small while, thinking again about Sayaka, Homura, the scene with Mami, Homura again... She wondered what the ebony, the blonde and the red head had wished to become what they were, and why. No matter how long the brain storming was, she arrived at no clues, and then, snapping back to reality, she realized she had distracted herself enough to get somewhere she had never been. "Oh, no..." She face-palmed, mentally insulting herself. Perhaps she shouldn't have taken a walk, after all.

She cautiously looked around, trying to make out where she came from, and follow her steps, but at the first bifurcation, she didn't remember which direction she had to choose. Trying not to desperate, she tried one, and started heading through alleys she didn't remember she had walked before.

The more minutes, the more nervous she was growing. Suddenly, already in the verge of tears, she saw the edge of a red puddle staining the ground. It came from a close alleyway. Worried about who was bleeding and willing to help them, she ran towards it, but what she saw made her instantly stop and cover her mouth in horror.

Her legs crossed, her hands over her ankles, her newest friend was sitting, her back supported against the wall, as she rested with her eyes closed. The crimson liquid emerged from a deep cut-shaped wound between her right ribs, and a hole in her left shoulder. She was breathing peacefully, or at least, she seemed like.

She carefully approached to see if the ebony was awake, kneeling in front of her, ignoring the red substance that now stained her tights. "H-Ho-Homura-chan?" She asked, her hands trembling.

To her surprise, the raven-haired girl opened her lavender eyes. "Madoka?" She asked, her voice showing microscopic glimpses of surprise before it steadied again. "What are you doing here?"

The pinkette couldn't help but ignore the ice-queen's question, making hers. "W-what happened to you?" She quickly started to look for something inside her pocket.

The magical girl blinked. "Desperate situations require desperate solutions." She answered calmly and coolly, as usual.

The pinkette pulled out her pink, clean handkerchief from her pocket, since the other one Homura had given her five days ago was being washed, -for every cute manga girl has to wear one with the color she is associated with- and quickly pressed it against Homura's gash, causing the girl to stiffen and blush.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She asked, a small fissure in her her coldness letting a bit of awkwardness escape, and also glimpses of some kind of an odd shyness.

Homura's sudden change of attitude startled the pinkette, who had never expected to see the ebony had a shy side. If she were not in that situation, she would have acted differently, but she had no time to worry about small details like those in that very moment. "I-I am trying t-to stop the bleeding!" She desperately answered. "I should call an ambulance..."

The dark-haired's stare softened; Madoka was truly worried. "Don't." She said, her composure and coldness back together. Madoka looked at her with watery eyes, and her heart bit faster, feeling bad for the concerned, innocent girl. "I can heal those myself." She said, lifting her purple soul gem. When she had forgotten that she was injured and full of blood, and just decided to sit down and reflect on what had happened before, she hadn't expected at all that the girl she loved and vowed to protect would see her like this. Another mistake to add to her list of regrets.

Madoka's eyes looked at the jewel, and saw it shining purple. The wounds were closing, very slowly, as they glimmered the same tone than the gem, which was filling with light darkness as her magic was used. The shining stopped, the injuries not completely healed, but at least bleeding no longer.

"See?" She asked monotonously, keeping her soul gem. "There is nothing to worry about, I'm fine."

The shorter girl's accumulated tears silently fell. She had been very scared about her newest friend, and before, she had been scared because she was lost, and also sad about Sayaka, and she wanted to help her, but didn't know how to, and now she still was lost, but with Homura, who had been bleeding from mortal wounds, and now she was not, but the horrible feeling still filled her insides, and she needed to let it go. Unable to think about it twice, as if she had been pushed, she helplessly leaned forwards and took the ebony in an embrace, and she started to sob into the pale girl's shoulder, her immaculate clothes now filling with crimson.

Homura stood silent, her lavender eyes now widened, her whole body completely stiffened. What was this? Why was this? She hadn't gotten one of those for too long, and the feeling was too hard to deal with. Several memories filled her mind, and she felt the urge to cry too but didn't. She would never do it. Not in front of Madoka. Madoka... Suddenly she snapped back to reality, remembering the fragile girl was crying into her shoulder. What could she do to comfort her? Would her reputation and mask be damaged depending on her actions?

She didn't care anymore. All that mattered was that the girl she loved was not okay, and if she hugged her to cry was because she was, somehow, depositing her trust onto her. She had to return that somehow, at least, to calm her down.

She swallowed saliva, as if when she prepared herself to do an exam she was going to fail due to her lack of study, in those old times, situated far away. Hesitatingly, she reached indecisive arms around the smaller girl, causing her to slightly flinch at the touch, but then hugging the ebony tighter.

"Shhh... It's okay..." Although she had never abandoned her coldness, her voice now attempted to sound a little gentle, as she spoke in soft, apparently calm whispers, though her insides burnt in pain. "...It really is."

After the minutes none of them had counted, Madoka still hiccuped a little, wrapped inside the hug as silence mostly ruled. She slowly pulled away, and Homura's arms let go of her. "I-I'm sorry." She murmured, blushing a little.

"It's fine." The taller girl said, and then scanned her with her eyes. "But your clothes and face are not." She stated bluntly.

"H-huh?" She looked down at her own tiny body, and noticed the blood stains. "Huh?!" She repeated, a little louder, and touched her face to see she had blood on it too, probably because she had had it buried into Homura's formerly injured shoulder.

The ebony stood up, and offered her a hand for her to do the same. "My home is near." She said, after a sigh. "I can wash... them before it gets too late, and lend you... something to wear meanwhile." She was blushing a little as she spoke.

"U-ugh... I-it's n-not necessary..." Madoka mumbled selflessly. "I..."

"How would your parents react if she saw you full of blood?"

Madoka swallowed saliva. She hadn't thought about it. Homura was right, so she would have to to accept. "A-are you s-sure you don't mind...?"

"I am." She nodded distantly. "Kyoko will probably be asleep now..." She sighed.

"A-ah! I... Will have to call Mama, though... I-I mean- my mother." The seemingly childish girl stuttered. "Wh-what can I say to her? I am a terrible liar..."

"Tell her you walked through a park, and slipped in the mud some kids had been playing with." She answered without having to think much.

"O-okay..." She wondered how came that the other could invent excuses so quickly. What kind of parents did she have? And that question led to another. How came that she didn't live with them?

"Follow me." The raven-haired said, as she started to walk, not even changing back to her school uniform, not even bothering to clean the blood from the ground, which made Madoka figure out in what kind of an alleyways she had ended up, and how lucky she was she had found Homura instead of some... rogue.

"A-ah- w-wait!" She hurried to catch up, and then, walked beside her, trying to stay close and not be left behind.

.

As Homura led her towards her room, the snores they heard became stronger. Just like in Charlotte's barrier, the ebony placed a finger over her pale lips for her to be silent, or at least, talk in a low volume. Madoka gave a small nod in response.

The door was silently open. The room was dark, with no light nor windows, full of drawers, some more candles, and countless clocks surrounding them. In the furthest wall, there was a mysterious, fancy, golden mirror, and in the purple bed, the red head was sleeping, a half-eaten apple inside her mouth, and she, snoring loudly, and sometimes mumbling things.

The host headed towards the purple wardrobe before the drawers, and opened it to search for clothes to lend the other. Most of them were dark, too dark for Madoka.

She looked around, and found her only white dress, that was too small for her to use now, but it would fit the pinkette perfectly. Then, she looked for tights. All of them were black, and she took the smaller one, though, it wold still be a little big for the guest, but there was no other choice.

Then, the problem came. Homura covered her face with her free hand to hide the blush in her cheeks, but she would have to do it anyways.

Meanwhile, Madoka had gone outside, to talk to her mother about her situation, Homura's lie perfectly understandable. She let her know that she would be back once she was done.

The raven-haired walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, unable to get rid of the faint red in her pale cheeks, that intensified more when they shared visual contact. She offered the folded clothes, inner clothes hid between them. "T-that's all you need." She said, the stutter in her cold voice giving a tense pitch to the embarrassing situation she was being through.

The pink-haired girl blushed a little too when she understood it, and took them. "Th-thank you, Homura-chan..." She smiled awkwardly.

"You can use the shower." She said pointing the direction, handing her a clean towel and then quickly walking towards the living room, to recompose herself.

Madoka stood there for a moment, but then, hesitatingly walked towards the bathroom, trying to somehow hide her face too, though, no one would see her.

.

When she went to the living room too, she saw Homura in her 'human' clothes. She had somehow gotten rid of all the blood on her, but the pinkette didn't dare to ask how. Instead, she just walked to sit beside her friend, and saw she had a mug in her hands.

"That's yours." The ebony said, pointing to the other mug in the table.

"A-ah, thank you..." She took it. The dark brown liquid inside smelled sweet, and it still had some smoke coming from it. Homura had gotten enough time to prepare hot chocolates. That just made the pinkette remember the kind of powers her host had.

"H-Homura-chan..." She instantly earned a gaze from the corner of the other's purplish eyes. "Wh-what did Tomoe-san, Kyoko-chan and you w-wish... To b-become magical girls?"

A small silence, and she saw how stiff were the raven-haired's hands, who was now glaring deeply at her warm drink. "Well..." She started. "If Kyoko and Mami Tomoe want you to know... I prefer they tell you themselves." She said. "About me... I'd rather keep it as a secret." Her eyes went back to look at her, now in a full stare. "You see, you touched a very personal subject. Not because it's a wish, but because it's _the_ wish, you now what I mean?"

"Hmm... I see." She nodded. "I'm sorry, Homura-chan."

The other shook her head calmly. "It's fine." She replied. "I am glad you understood."

Madoka gifted the permanently stoic girl with a small, gentle smile before taking a sip of her chocolate, closing her eyes at the flavor.

The ebony drank hers, not too fast, but neither slowly. She left the mug in the table, and then just kept her position, unaware of what she should do next. At the end, she started to follow the pendulum shadow with her lavender eyes. She only was distracted when she heard the other mug against the table.

"I-I should be leaving..." The pinkette muttered, standing up.

"Alright." The other stood up too. "I'll walk you home. The streets are dangerous at this time."

The smaller girl remembered her mother's teases and was about to pout, but thanked the black-haired instead.

.

"A-ah, I forgot my keys..." Madoka whispered sheepishly, and then pressed the bell.

"I should leave." Homura stated, almost turning around when a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Hm?" She asked, looking at who had done so.

"P-please, stay..." The pinkette said. "At least, let my mother see you..." She looked at the ebony with begging, glittering eyes, and the other found herself between the devil and the deep blue sea.

"...Fine." She said, and the other brightened. "Just a short introduction, and then I'll head home."

"Thank you, Homura-chan!" The girl's smile was filled with a sudden joy, that just reminded the ebony how expressive and sensitive she was.

Suddenly, the door opened.

"Hi, Madoka." Junko said with a grin, and then looked at the raven-haired. "And... Who are you?" Her smile never faded.

The taller girl bowed her head. "My name is Homura Akemi." She said, and then lifted her chin enough to look deeply into her eyes. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too!" Madoka's mother's smirk widened. "You must be the transfer student, huh? We've heard a lot about you." The former had to make a small effort now to keep the mask on. Had Madoka really talked that much about her? "How was your first week?"

"It was good." She answered, coldly, but politely, just like when she introduced herself to the class. "Thanks for asking."

"No problem." The woman replied. "Do you want to come in?" She gestured.

"No, thanks." Homura bowed again. "It's getting late, and I must head home." She said, and then handed her a plastic bag. "Those belongs to your daughter. I haven't had the time to dry them, but they are clean."

"Oh?" Junko accepted the bag. "Thank you." She then smiled slyly. "You should drop by some day, and stay for a while."

"Thanks for the invitation." Was the reply she got. "I don't know if I will have enough time, anyways." After all, she was not lying.

"Oh? Well, we'll see." Madoka's mother did not give up so easily, and Homura knew how stubborn she was, just like her daughter, though, with no shyness to block her.

"Now I must go." The ebony said, bowing for a last time. "Farewell." She then looked at Madoka. "Good bye."

"A-ah, bye!" She said, before seeing her friend walking away. Would she come back by the time she was in bed? She wondered.

"So that's the transfer student, huh?" Junko said, as if still evaluating her. "She seems shy."

"D-does she?" The pinkette asked her mother, completely startled now. The only answer she got was a shrug, before the two of them entered the house.

.

Madoka tiredly plopped onto her bed, before curling up and covering herself with her blankets. Half-conscious, she opened magenta eyes to distinguish a familiar silhouette in the darkness.

"G-good night... Homura... chan..." She whispered, her eyes automatically closed at the security the other's presence made her feel. She was too sleepy to talk.

"Night, Madoka." Was the last thing she heard before she fell asleep.


	7. Day 7

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"

"Nnng..." The girl groaned, as she was slowly ripped off her sleep. She turned around in an unsuccessful attempt to ignore the high-pitched alarm that was piercing the insides of her ears, and curled up in a small ball. Again, she had forgotten to deactivate the alarm clock, and it was Sunday. Luckily, that meant that she would not have to reactivate it for the next day, and that was a relief, for it had sometimes happened that she had forgotten to, and was late at school. At least it happened few times.

"Aaaaahh…" At the end, a sleepy hand was lifted to turn it off. Silence, sweet silence. The pink room was filled with the light of sunrise, but she hid beneath her blankets and closed her eyes again. Somehow, sleepiness dragged her in a deep hug, and she was able to rest a few more.

.

"Gah!" The ebony clutched her neck as she woke up, and panted heavily with watery eyes. Gulping air, she shook her head and cleaned her tears with her sleeve. The sudden sunlight blinded her, and she turned around to avoid it, but then, gravity betrayed her. Quick reflexes, a pale, bony hand grabbing the edge of the roof, and she, hanging like a drying t-shirt. Now she remembered. A while after Madoka fell asleep, she headed back home, but her bed was already occupied by Kyoko, and her snores didn't allow her to sleep somewhere inside. She just went to the roof, and, as if losing an unequal combat, tiredness defeated her. It was a good thing that the street where she lived was so unpopulated.

She had to choose between two options now: climbing upwards or allow herself to fall, and then land on her feet, just like a cat… Just like Amy.

"Fuck noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

A screech, and she quickly went back to the top of the roof, and entered her house from there, running, following the sound that led her towards the kitchen.

Kyoko was there, in front of an almost empty fridge.

"Sister, what- … Seriously?" Homura still panted a little.

"We outta food! What happen'd?!" The red head's hands grabbed her own head as it shook desperately.

"Kyoko." The raven-haired snapped coldly. "Think a little…"

"Oh?" She tried to fly backwards through her memories, and then, a small spark illuminated her eyes. "Aaaah, so it was meh." She started to chuckle, not even ashamed.

The paler girl palmed her forehead, and when she put down her hand, she saw her sibling's intentions in her face. "No, Kyoko, no." She said, slowly shaking her head. "I am busy today. You go buy what you have eaten."

"Say what?" The former blinked, astonished and confused at the same time. "Ya mean… Wha' ya mean, hu?"

"I do." She sighed. "Follow me, sister."

Kyoko shrugged, and walked after the ebony, who was leading her towards her room.

Homura opened one of her drawers, and after searching for a while, she pulled out a credit card. She then turned around, and handed it to the red-haired rebel. "You'll use this." She said. "Buy something inappropriate, and…"

"…And?" The red head asked, raising an eyebrow as she deeply looked at the credit card, excitedly thinking about the millions of possibilities it gave her.

"…And I'll make you eat three times a day, healthy food." She threatened.

Kyoko gasped. "No! Anything but dat!" She started to sweat, her knees shaking.

"Then don't disappoint me, sis-ter." That last word of her sounded so evil the red head's blood ran cold for the first time before Homura. She quickly nodded, keeping the credit card, automatically running to prepare herself to do what she had been told.

"Hm." Homura gave a small nod of acknowledgment before she changed her clothes to go to outside.

.

The principal building of the army was huge, enormously tall, perfectly protected. A soldier spotted a teenager by the entrance, probably fifteen, looking deeply at them with her cold, lavender eyes. She dressed in an apparently innocent way, a purple jacket, long black jeans, military boots. Her long, straight, coal-colored hair swung gracefully behind her. She was prettily mysterious.

"Do you need something, girl?" The soldier asked, showing his tough, yet civic manners.

The teen shook her head. "No, thanks." Her voice projected the image of a frozen heart. "I was just watching, for a school work." She lied.

"Well." The man replied. "You can't be here, you know?"

"Oh." The ebony nodded. "Fine, then." And with that, she walked away.

Homura kept moving until she reached the corner, and after it, she pressed her back against the wall. "I've seen enough." She whispered to herself. An enormous amount of soldiers, countless security cameras, mirrors, and other methods to keep the place protected from intruders. She had been there before.

She shook her head to push her memories to the back of her mind; it was not the right moment to cry about long left pasts and deaths, but to worry about doing everything right in this time line. She needed to find the most destructive weapons and war vehicles, and then, steal one of each kind. An impossible mission to any human, but an easy duty to accomplish with the help of her shield; her time controlling magic.

.

Kyoko walked, heavy plastic bags hanging from her hands, full of food and only food. She had a stick of pocky coming out from her mouth, it slightly balancing up and down as she licked its tip. She was wearing her blue denim shorts and boots, and her green hoodie.

The rebel decided to sit somewhere, since, even though she didn't feel any ache in her fingers, but their flesh was starting to get deformed due to the pressure. Looking around she spotted a bench, and sitting on it, a blue-haired girl, her hands covering her eyes. She was wearing a grey hoodie jacket, black jeans that finished below her knee and white sneakers.

The red head sat on the edge, immediately recognizing who the other teenager was, and swallowing her snack, she looked at her. "Yo." She greeted, got no answers. "Heyho." Another silence. "Yo, smurf, are ya here?!" The other's indifference was starting to upset her, and she decided to shake her by her shoulders. "Gimme a single answah at least! I ain't bite ya unless ya're food!" She growled.

The bluenette finally seemed to react, pulling her face away from her hands, and giving Kyoko a blank stare.

"Da fuck?! Are ya high or somethin'?!" The latter backed away before approaching again.

"….." The blue-haired girl stared for a moment, and then, she looked back down at her hands, where she held a greenish, broken crystal she had found in the street. She pulled up her sleeve, revealing her wrist, and then, looking deeply at her veins. It was easy to predict what she would try to do next.

"Oi, dun't!" She slapped the crystal away from her hands, drawing a bit of blood from both of them, but never caring about it. She grabbed Sayaka by her neck and looked at it. "Damn… Sis told meh ya always managed tho get into witchy trouble, hu?" She passed her finger over the black, iconic tattoo-like mark; the witch kiss. "Aaaaaarrrgh. I'll have to handle ya too now."

She hit the back of Sayaka's head, just like Homura had taught her in order not to leave marks while knocking our somebody, and then, carried the unconscious teenager on her back, picking up the bags with her hands again, and running home.

.

The pinkette ran from one side to the other of her room, looking at her mobile phone every five seconds, deeply concerned. She confused every single sound she heard with her usual ringtone, and every minute made her more stressed. From time to time, she typed messages and sent them to someone that would apparently never reply them.

When she finally was about to leave her phone on the table and sit on her bed, she felt the familiar vibration in her hand, and heard the short melody coming from her phone.

She quickly looked at it, and saw she had a message from an unknown number. Hesitatingly, she opened it, and what she read made her gasp a little.

' _Good morning, Madoka. It's Homura. We found Sayaka. Please, head to my home if you want to know more. Amy will escort you. See you soon._ '

Without thinking twice, she rushed towards the door, when a warm hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Where are you going so quickly?" Tomoisha asked her, with a concerned look in his eyes.

"A-ah…" Madoka tried to mask her worry with one of her characteristic smiles. "Y-you see, Papa, I…" Suddenly, and to her luck, something returned to her mind. "I forgot I have to bring back Homura-chan's clothes!" She was wearing her own now, a pink hoodie, white shorts and white stockings, and had just put on her white sneakers.

"I see." He nodded in understanding. "Does she know you are visiting her?"

"Of course she does!" Madoka replied, sweat-dropping a little.

"Hm." He gave a last nod, and then one of his sweet smiles. "Alright, don't be back too late. And if something happens, don't forget to give us a call."

Madoka waved her mobile phone a little. "Understood! Bye, Papa!" She opened the door, and almost stumbled not to step over the cat that was already waiting for her.

"Meooooow~." The small, black-furred animal greeted her, swinging its tail a little before it started to pad away, expecting the pinkette to follow her.

"A-amy, wait!" She started following her, trying her best to keep up.

Her father watched her as she faded in the distance. He gave a small shrug and laughed, before going back inside and closing the door.

.

"Are ya sure it wa' good idea tho text da pinko?" Kyoko asked, sitting at the edge of Homura's bed, where now the bluenette slept, unaware of everything around her.

The paler girl nodded, showing her sister Sayaka's mobile phone. "As you can see, she has fifteen calls from her best friend, and her whatsapp is saturated. I think she had the right to know." She kept the phone back inside its owner's pocket, and then looked away. "She needed to, anyways. I know her. Madoka can really worry about _any_ living creature, and she has a strong imagination, that can make her worry even more in situations like those."

"I see." Kyoko made a small pause, and then smirked. "Ya really luv her, hu? Ya'r always worried 'bout her!" She then faked a high-pitched voice, perhaps too strident. "Oh, Homura-chan, ya'r sooo kind!"

"Stop it." The ebony snapped, blushing and tensing.

Kyoko understood she was touching a sensitive subject. How wasn't her sister going to worry if she had seen her suffering and dying so many times? "Awright, awright, but ya pay fo' da food." She joked.

"I do always pay for it." Homura stated, looking at the former with her lilac eyes.

"See, it a good deal, hu?" Kyoko made a fangy grin, and before the other could reply, the bell softly sounded.

A short silence, until the raven-haired stood up. "I'll go." She said, and then, headed to the door.

The red head shrugged. "Like if I gonna stop ya." She whispered.

The door opened, and a very concerned Madoka nervously fidgeted before speaking. "G-good morning- uh… Ma-may I come in?"

Saying nothing, the host nodded and moved aside.

"Th-thank you!" She ran towards the only place where she thought Sayaka would be.

The she-cat came in, and looked up at the ebony.

"Well done, Amy." Homura said, closing the door and crouching down to pet her feline friend. "Thanks for escorting her."

"Meooow!~" The tiny animal headbutted the palm of the black-haired's bony hand, and then rubbed against it. She then jumped over her shoulder.

Feeling Amy's weight, she pet her once more before standing up, keeping the best of her balance for the kitten not to fall before she walked to follow the pinkette.

"Wh-what happened to her…?" Madoka worriedly asked, already sitting on the same bed where Sayaka was lying, carefully holding her hand.

"A witch kissed her." Homura replied, the shorter girl's gasp not even altering her coldness and steadiness. "Kyoko found her in due time, and once she carried her here, we removed it with magic. So there is nothing to worry about. She's fine, and will wake up soon." The cat, which had been on her shoulder, was now curling up over a pillow in the ground and then falling asleep.

Madoka sighed in relief, and looked at the red head. "T-thank you, s-so very much, Kyoko-chan…" She murmured.

The rascal eyed her wickedly and stuck her tongue out.

The pinkette was already wondering what she did wrong when Homura's voice ripped her off her brain-storming. "It's okay, Madoka. That means she 'likes' you." She said, and then turned to gift her sister with one of her threatening glares. "Right, Kyoko?" She asked. If anyone thought the ebony couldn't be colder, they were wrong, and right now her tone was a proof.

The red head turned to look at her stoic sibling and stuck her tongue out again, this time grinning mischievously.

"No, Kyoko, no…" The paler girl sighed, before some hand shyly pulled her sleeve to mutely earn her attention. Knowing who its owner was, she turned around without making her wait, and her eyes caught the view of a plastic bag the smaller girl was handing her.

"That's yours, Homura-chan…" She said in half a whisper. "Thanks a lot for- lending it to me."

The former accepted both the bag and Madoka's words with a nod, and took the object, noting a mental reminder to keep its contents inside her wardrobe, and faking she hadn't noticed the slight blush in the other's face.

Suddenly, they all heard a small grumble, as the tomboy's sapphire eyes half-opened.

"Sayaka-chan?!" Madoka held her hand tighter, as all her attention was now given to her childhood friend, who was starting to wake up.

"Mado-…? She looked around, unsuccessfully trying to guess where she was when she saw red and lavender eyes looking at her. She stiffened, her eyes now widening as she quickly sat up. "The fuck, transfer students?! What the- Where am I?!" She demanded, now looking around as fast as big her confusion was.

Kyoko gave a smirk, but looked away deliberately and impolitely when blue met her eyes.

The ebony just stood stoically, her only movement being a small, short blink.

"You are in Homura-chan's house." Madoka smiled softly as her voice sounded sweet and gentle, but then her features changed to a pout. "And as you can see there are no ghosts nor bats nor corpses of- … Corpses."

A black eyebrow was raised, as, from experience of her past, its owner could already guess what Sayaka said behind her back. In every time line, the bluenette always came with new inventions about her 'dark side'. If only she knew… If only they all knew… But no. They couldn't and wouldn't know.

A blue-eyebrowed frown. "What am I doing here?" Her voice was stained by mistrust and shock.

"Oi, brat!" Kyoko poked the forehead of the girl in the bed. "Ya should be thankful dat I brought ya here instead of leavin' ya like dat!" She snapped, almost accidentally spitting the other's face.

Sayaka blinked, poker-faced in true astonishment. "L-like what?" She asked.

"You hit your head and fainted." Homura took the initiative. "My sister picked you up to avoid complications."

"Ah…" Cyan blinked.

"Yeah, but if ya dun't wanna be here and ya feel good ya can leave now!" The red head snapped.

"H-hold on you compulsive eater!" She looked as if she were going to say something, but instead of that, she looked deeply at Kyoko.

"What?!"

"…Your breath smells like waffles." She replied, poker-faced again.

"Is dat all?" The red-haired teenager rested her hands on her hips.

"…" Sayaka looked around nervously, "No." She said, and sighed in defeat. "'Kay, you win. I guess I owe you a 'thank you'?"

Kyoko grinned. "NP."

"Ah, well." Sayaka jumped out of the bed. "I guess I have to go now. She walked towards the living-room, when the vision of the pendulum brutally impacted her. "WTF?!"

Madoka ran to follow her friend's voice. "S-Sayaka-chan, what-?!" She stopped to a halt, and looked up at the swinging pendulum. "Ah…" Since she first had entered that room, she hadn't payed much attention to it, she had instantly acknowledged its presence as if it were as routine as a mere table or chair. But now that she looked at it, she found it calm yet sinister, and a small chill ran across her spine. She could follow it with her eyes, it carrying her to a status of blank day-dreaming, cradling her with its mysterious, constant movement. She slowly grew dizzy and stumbled, but felt firm hands holding her by her shoulders.

"Oi, Madoka! Don't get sleepy on me again!" Sayaka joked.

"A-ah, no!" She recovered her balance, not daring to look at the pendulum again. "Sorry, Sayaka-chan… I really become distracted easily!" She giggled innocently.

"Madoka." Homura's voice behind them made them turn around. "You should walk Sayaka Miki home… Just in case something happens again." Her constant coldness made the bluenette glare at her, but the ebony just stood stoic, as she always was.

"R-right… Let's go, Sayaka-chan!"

The fact that the taller girl's coolness affected her best friend no longer made the tomboy look at the impassible raven-haired suspiciously, before she turned to answer the former's call. "Aaaah, yeah, okay!"

"Bye, Homura-chan, Kyoko-chan!" Madoka waved her hand before walking out the opened door the black-haired was now holding for them.

"Yeah, uh… Bye!" Sayaka waved a little as well.

"Byyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Kyoko's muffled voice was heard from the room, her laziness making her stay there, grabbing whatever she had in her pocket to eat.

Homura gave a last farewell nod before closing the door and sighing, then walking to her sister. "We should split up this afternoon." She informed. "You two need time after what happened yesterday."

"Ah, yeah…" Kyoko guiltily looked down, gritting her teeth. "Germana, ho sento…" She murmured.

"No passa res." The ebony replied, using again their common, secret language. "I was the one who decided to step in the middle." She closed her eyes, before continuing her explanation. "There were many ways to stop you, but none would calm the rage from you two… So I had to shock you somehow, since commotion was the only way to make you two realize the mistake you were making." Her lilac eyes opened again. "That's why I did it."

The red head nodded. "Yeah… Maybe all we need is time." She agreed with dismay.

"I'll talk to Mami, and we'll try again tomorrow, maybe… Or else the day after. It depends." Homura mused, her head slightly tilted. There was no time to lose, and she wanted to do her best for this time line to be the final one, just like in all the others.

"'Kay…" The red head replied, and then leaned backwards, throwing herself against the bed, feeling the bounce against her body, her teeth colliding. "Wha' will we eat?" She asked, completely changing the subject of the conversation.

"Pasta." Was the coal-haired's response. "But first I have to go and do something."

"'Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay."

Suddenly, Homura felt a slight vibration, and she pulled her silenced mobile phone from her pocket. She had a small text from Madoka.

'Can we talk later, Homura-chan?' It said.

'Sure.' The girl typed quickly, with extreme agility in her thumbs, earned from a long practice since Madoka texted her every time line, starting from the very first one, when she still had weak, clumsy fingers. 'This afternoon, at 18:00, at the park where we met yesterday. Is it okay with you?'

'It's fine. Thank you, Homura-chan. I'll see you there. '

'No problem.'

The ebony sighed, kept her phone again and looked at Kyoko. "I'll be right back." Not even waiting for an answer, she ran towards the roof and, as her soul gem took again the shape of a diamond and was placed in the back of her left hand, she, in her magical girl uniform, froze her surroundings again with her shield. She had the weapons from every time line, and had gathered a few new ones. If she started to plan and situate everything right then, she would perhaps be able to win this time. Without thinking it twice, she pulled maps, papers, statistics, notes and a fountain pen from her shield, and then started to jump from building to building.

1st step: filling the pointed spaces with the weapons she had already used in other time lines.

2nd step: adding her new acquisitions, calculating everything meticulously, with absolutely no mistakes.

.

When Madoka spotted the silhouette of the girl she had been waiting for, she suddenly brightened, but her expression changed a little when she saw her aspect: Homura's face didn't show it, but her corporal language revealed how exhausted she was.

"Homura-chan!" She called. "A-are you okay?"

The taller girl looked down at her for a small moment, before replying with a slow nod. "I'm fine." She answered, politely sitting down beside her.

The pinkette sighed. "Homura-chan… I know you are a very strong magical girl… B-but don't p-push yourself so hard! You… Make me worry…" The other looked at her, and she was able to hold her gaze just for a little moment before looking down with a blush.

"I see." The raven-haired whispered, before looking at the distance again. "Don't worry about me, Madoka. It is not worth it." She spoke emotionlessly.

"H-how… How can you say that?!" Madoka's desperate voice brought her stare back. "O-of course I worry! You are my friend!" Her breathing was accelerating a little.

"Calm down, Madoka." The ebony said, never looking away from her now. "Remember I am not a human, so things work differently in my body. I am not that easy to hurt or kill."

"B-but you were hurt… I-I saw you!" Images of the bleeding Homura still appeared in the shorter girl's mind, and remembering that made her want to cry again. Why was the world so cruel to magical girls? Why did they have to fight restlessly until they ended up turning into the things they battled? It was so unjust…

"I was because I chose to." The ebony's now stern words made the former gasp a little. "Besides, those were nothing to me. Our bodies regenerate quickly. If not, they heal with magic. Even our sense of pain is muffled." She closed her eyes. "We are like war machines, impossible to destroy until they stop working…" Or in their case, until they went berserk.

If Homura's words were meant to comfort the pinkette, they didn't, and Madoka was in the verge of tears, breathing shakily now. "That's… So cruel, Homura-chan…" She murmured. "So unfair…" Her voice was cut by a sudden sob. "You… Do not deserve to… To be that!" She made the best of her efforts to control her tears. They made that appointment because she wanted to ask Homura a few things, but there she was, weeping again. She mentally called herself a crybaby, as she tried to stop her tears with her hands.

The ebony helplessly stared at the now broken girl in front of her. She felt clumsy, but, what else could she tell but the truth? Truth hurt… A lot. She had a purpose to remain alive, fighting every day restlessly, until her fate devoured her as it did with everyone else, except that, it would not happen until she finished her mission. But there it was, the cause of her never giving up, the only source of strength, the only thing that tied her to life, wasting her time crying about her, who felt unworthy of her spilled tears.

In an attempt to comfort without losing her stoicism and cold appearance, she put a stiff arm over the other one's trembling shoulder. "It's okay." She said, her voice still cool but now gentle. "It will be. You believe Kyoko and I are strong, then remember it. We won't fall that easily."

"P-promise me…" She muttered between sobs. "Please… Promise me… You w-will live… A-and… Take care… Of… Yourself…"

The ebony silently sighed. "I will live." She said. "I promise, so don't worry."

Madoka looked at her with watery eyes, and then hugged her, just like the day before, probably in search of consolation.

Homura blinked, and tried not to stiff and flinch at this, not to blush, not to push the other away. Memories flooded her mind again, and she shot her eyes closed, gritting her teeth before exhaling unsteadily, and pat the pinkette's back. That familiar warmth brought her sorrow, but also something odd… A strange mixture between hope and despair, ache and pleasure. She loved that girl, and would hug her for ever, and never let her go. Instead, she would remain opposite to show any emotion, and protect the other from the shadows, and make sure she was okay before and after Walpurgisnacht.

The pinkette pulled closer at the touch as she let everything go, and the taller girl ended up returning the hug distantly, or trying to be distant. Braking in the insides, she thought for a millisecond that Madoka would never know what she felt for her. But it was better like this… If she became more attached to her, perhaps that would lead her to make a contract, and that was the last thing she wanted. For now, she would just wait until the smaller girl calmed down.

.

Sayaka depressively ate her ice cream as she sat in a bench near the aquarium. The boy she loved had been asleep most of the day, trying to run away from reality and his now destroyed life. She had been able to do little, less than little, to help him, and guilt devoured her the same way she devoured her refreshing treat.

She sighed. She had been eating it to try and calm her tension and pain, but she was not hungry in fact. She put her spoon and ice cream down when a sudden question from behind made her jump.

"Ya ganna eat dat, smurf?" Kyoko asked. She didn't know how she always managed to meet her randomly, even when she didn't plan to. It was destiny, perhaps?

"Nah…" She sighed again. "You can have it."

"Thanks." Kyoko smirked as she plopped down beside the bluenette and cleaned the bucket with her whole mouth, and even part of her face, not even needing the spoon to do so.

If the red head were not so noisy as she ate, and if there were no vehicles near them, everything would be a long, neither comfortable nor uncomfortable silence. Just a short stage to be through, each one deep inside their thoughts, which were a mystery to the other.

But every stage has a beginning, and so an end. The magical girl had finished eating, and she threw the container to the rubbish bin, licking her fingertips after that. "Well." She said, drying them against her sweater. "What seems tho be da problem fo' ya tho be liek dat?" She asked, looking at the other from the corner of her crimson eyes.

"Nothin'." Sayaka answered, trying to drop the subject, but failing miserably.

"U bad liar." Kyoko stated, hitting her with her elbow. When the bluenette turned to scold at her, she found a red box in front of her eyes.

"Want one?" She slightly shook the box as she offered its contents.

"…" The tomboy's hesitation didn't last for too long, and she pulled one of the pockys out, and nibbled on it.

"So." The red head said, placing hers between her fangs. "I'll ask fo' a last time." She cleared her throat. "Yar problem is?"

"Let it be." The tomboy looked away, pocky in her mouth. "And let me be too."

Kyoko apathetically held her snack with two fingers, and pretended she was smoking. "Yar brain is worth an ass." She said, blowing imaginary smoke.

"WHAT?!" Sayaka turned to stare at her, as angry as surprised.

"Ya hit yar head dis morneen'?" The red head sucked her pocky and then bit it, blowing imaginary smoke again. "Silly thin's. Ya fainted cuz ya'r stressed."

The tomboy opened her mouth to protest, but closed it and looked down.

"Ya see?" Kyoko chuckled shortly before continuing her task of eating/'smoking'. "Mah sistah says heartz be like vases. Dey fill wiz wathah as dey charge wiz emotions. Ya need tho let 'em go, empty da vase before da wathah is spilled outside."

Sayaka glared suspiciously. "And what exactly does your 'sister' know about emotions?" She growled, somehow feeling insulted.

Kyoko frowned, and sharply glared back. "Apparently, more dan ya."

"Apparently." The bluenette scoffed. "If she knows something about those, then I am an evil witch!" She said wryly.

The other stared at her blankly, then closed her hands into fists, and then guffawed loudly, hitting her knee with her now open palm.

"What? What?! What is so funny?!" She demanded angrily.

"Ya know notheen'." Kyoko replied, wiping away her small tears of laughter.

"Really." Sayaka scoffed. "I guess we have that in common."

"Ah, well." Kyoko looked at her, smirking. "Ya know? I wanna try tho help ya. Dat's why I'm still here and yar nose ain't broken."

The blue-haired girl gritted her teeth. She just had enough, and really had to make an effort not to try and remove than grin from the red head's face. "Go bury your face on elephant shit!" She stood up, and ran away.

The rascal put her head down as she lifted her hand. "Take care!~" She said, before looking around, swallowing the last bits of her pocky and grabbing another one to eat. She sighed. "Bleh, humans…" She then stood up and stretched, ready to start her hunting afternoon. Since she was all alone, she would defeat some minions, maybe… A few of them. But if she crossed her path with a witch's, she would not allow that opportunity to escape.

.

Homura's eyes remained opened, unblinking, as she looked at something but nothing. The pinkette was still resting against her arms, her now calmed breathing sometimes interrupted by tiny hiccups, but at least she was no longer crying. The calm that surrounded them now made the situation feel kind of bittersweet, since it's the calm only a good cry brings.

Then, the ebony remembered she had been messaged to be asked something, and that question had never been asked, so she decided to, once more, take the reins of the situation. "Madoka…" She whispered. "Are you feeling better now?"

The pinkette quickly pulled away, blushing, and rubbed her soaked cheeks with her fists. "S-sorry, Homura-chan…"

"It's fine." She answered, and repeated her last question, slightly tilting her head. "Are you better now?"

"Y-yes, thank you." She nodded, giving her a small smile.

"Good." The other nodded back, apparently satisfied. Then, after a tiny pause, she spoke again. "You wanted to ask me something, right?"

"Y-yeah…" Madoka fidgeted with her hoodie, looking at anything she found lower than her.

"I'm listening." For once, Homura moved her gaze away, so she wouldn't intimidate the other, and she would feel more comfortable to ask what she wanted to know.

"R-right…" The pinkette gave a last nod, as she tried to tidy up her mind and clear her thoughts. "First of all… I… I want to thank you… For everything you do, Homura-chan."

The raven-haired tensed, and then quickly searched for the most appropriate answer for her to give. "You don't have to thank me." She blurted out, coldly. As Madoka remained frozen, she looked away. "I mean, there is nothing to thank." How stoic, how cool, how… Clumsy. She finished her sentence by flicking her hair.

"U-uh…" Madoka didn't really understand, but she found no better answer than this. "Okay…"

"Any other question?" The ebony asked, looking again at the pinkette, who's magenta eyes immediately darted downwards.

"Ah…" The pinkette realized that the last thing she had told Homura hadn't been a question, so she now searched for a true one. "H-how… Did you get my number?" She tilted her head, her eyes now glittering with curiosity, still showing that she had cried before.

"Hm." The coal-haired rested her jaw over her open right hand. "I…" She had memorized it many time lines ago. "…saw it in the school papers when I transferred. The teacher told me to note it, saying it would be good to have it if something happened." She shrugged, now looking again at some lost point in the distance. "I couldn't say 'no', anyways."

"I see…" Madoka nodded. It made sense to her. "A-also!" Images of the last morning came back to her mind. "Wh-what happened to Sayaka-chan… The… Witch kiss? H-how does it work exactly?" Perhaps, if it happened again, she would be able to do something to help, she hoped.

"As I told you on Tuesday, you can notice it, for it shows itself as a small tattoo on the prey's neck." The ebony looked at her hands as she spoke, her pale, long fingers now interlaced, her spine straight against the back of the bench. This way, she didn't seem a threat, and the pinkette looked at her, almost unblinking. "It's like… 'Possessing' the victim somehow. Feeding themselves with their despair, they make them do things only someone insane would. Nevertheless, the most common thing they cause them is to give up on life, to kill themselves."

"S-so it means…" The shorter girl muttered, a chill running along her spine and through her whole body. "..I-if Kyoko-chan hadn't been there…" She heavily swallowed saliva, feeling a tangle inside her neck.

"Your friend would have cut her veins with some piece of glass she found." Homura said what the other couldn't, her eyes still closed not to see the horror in her face. "The easiest victims to be 'kissed' or welcomed inside their barrier are those who are already struggling." It was impossible to know what she was thinking about right now.

"Oh, no…" Madoka hug herself already shaking. "That's horrid… If…- T-then… Sayaka-chan is…"

"Don't worry." The ebony cut her mumbling. "Kyoko and I will watch her closely." So then Madoka wouldn't risk her soul to save her if something happened? "And about that witch…" Her ring adopted the shape of a gem again. It shone. "I bet she had three seconds left to live."

"Wh-what?"

The soul gem's glimmering suddenly faded. "My sister is done with her." She stated, turning the jewel back into a ring.

"Oh…" Madoka blinked twice, startled by the sudden news. Should she be happy, because they had removed another dangerous being from the city? Or else should she be sad, for that witch had been a girl like herself, who had been tricked by that creature named 'Incubator'? Though it was better this way, she thought. At least that girl would suffer no longer.

"Any other question?" The black-haired asked again, bringing back her eyes to the other.

"Ah…" Madoka fidgeted once more, frowning a little as she thought. 'What happened yesterday?' 'Have you already allied to Mami?' 'Do you magical girls sleep at night?' 'Have you ever been about to die?' 'Why do you live by yourself?' 'Where is your family?' 'Where is Kyoko's?' Many questions like those flew through her mind, but she dared to ask none. Then, different questions, more usual, like those friends share, started to slowly replace the others. 'What is your favorite color?' 'And your favorite food?' 'When is your birthday?' 'Which is your favorite subject?' 'Do you have any hobbies?' 'Which kind of music do you like?' 'Favorite book?' 'Movie?' 'TV show?' 'Do you play video games?' But again, she neither dared to ask those. The life of the girl beside her was completely different from hers, perhaps she wouldn't answer those questions, or maybe her answer would be too unexpected, perhaps, even negative. Did magical girls have enough time to think about such things? And… Would Homura even acknowledge her questions after all? Yes, they were now friends, but the ebony was like a closed book, and perhaps, they didn't trust each other enough. Why was everything so difficult? Why couldn't they just talk naturally, without one being so shy and the other being so cold and closed?

She saw the raven-haired was patiently waiting, and felt a little guilty about taking so long to answer.

"H-homura-chan…" She whispered.

"What is it?" She answered, staring at her from upon, eternally parsimonious, yet somehow, a little rigid.

"D-did you…" What she was going to ask seemed stuck inside her. She didn't know why this question came, and where from, but it just appeared. "…h-have…" She felt as if she were completely intruding the other's privacy. Why was she even asking that anyways? "…a-any friends before? B-besides Amy?"

And once she shot, it entered Homura's heart like a bullet. Her body completely stiffened, and this time, it was inevitable. "I…" She swallowed saliva, recomposing herself. "I am not interested in socializing and human relationships." She spoke coldly and bluntly, but seemingly serene again.

"Th-then…" Innocent curiosity was again inside the pinkette's eyes. "Why d-did you accept… To be my friend?" Her head cocked to a side as she spoke, pink bangs slightly touching her shoulder.

"Because…" Homura breathed deeply, almost as if going to sigh, but didn't. She just kept breathing softly, inaudibly, slow inhales and exhales. "…maybe you are different." She said, stabbing her with her lilac eyes again.

"H-huh?" Madoka's eyes widened a little, and her head tilted more.

"I already told you my opinion about you that night." She said, moving her gaze to look forwards again. "I know I am right, so you should never forget my words." She knew how low the pinkette's self-esteem was, and she just hated having to see how she denied herself once and again, and not doing a thing about it.

"…" Madoka's silence showed how blocked the little teenager was right now. She looked down. "Th-thanks…"

"Mhm." Homura crossed her arms, her eyes about to stare downwards again when a sound made her look at the new weight on her shoulder, the one that was not soaked by the pinkette's tears.

"Meooow."

"I know, Amy." She said, stroking the little cat, and standing up. "I must go now, Madoka."

"W-wait!" The girl in the pink hoodie stood up, looking at the other with a pleading stare. "M-may I come too?"

To her disappointment, Homura shook her head. "I am sorry, Madoka. Today it will be more dangerous, and perhaps you will see something you are not ready to." Or else, her presence this time would be a handicap, but the ebony had enough tact not to say so.

"Homura-chan… Is it related to wh-what happened yesterday?" She pointed to where the other's wounds had been, for her to understand.

The raven-haired looked at her anew. "I'm afraid it is." She made a small sigh. "Farewell, Madoka." But when she turned around to leave, a hand took hers, and she found herself tilting her head backwards to look at the pinkette.

"W-will you be okay, Homura-chan?" She asked, concerned again.

The former lightly squeezed her hand to comfort her. "I promised you that I would be alive." After saying that, she turned back around and let go, walking away, little Amy meowing to say goodbye, still standing over her shoulder.

Madoka stood there, looking at the other as she left. Should she follow or not? Should she trust or worry? At the end, she submissively turned around and walked home; she still had home work to do.

.

The blonde panted, as the barrier of the last minion faded around her. She cleaned the sweat on her forehead with a handkerchief, and so the blood of her only wound; a gash over her collarbone she would heal it once she was back home. The pain she felt was bare, but enough to turn her wound into an annoying thing placed on her body. She heard heels echoing on the cobblestone, and turned around to look, not surprised, at the girl whose long, silky hair waved prettily behind her as she walked, a she-cat staying on her shoulder.

"Good evening, Mami Tomoe." She greeted once she was near enough.

"Ah, Akemi-san… Good evening." She greeted back, once more drawing that smile on her lips.

"I was wondering how you are doing after yesterday." She commented monotonously.

"A-ah…" Her smile faded, but she tried to make it again and then hold it. "Y-yes, uhm… I'm fine." She replied, her voice showing the opposite. "B-but… What about you, Akemi-san? You were hurt." Her lips tugged downwards now, trying to show concern.

"I'm fine." She repeated the blonde's words, coldly. "It was the only way to stop you two from killing each other. After all, it was not a too high price to pay."

"What do you mean?" Mami asked, feeling a little exasperated. "Isn't your life a high price to pay?" She frowned at her own words.

"We magical girls do not die that easily." She explained. "As long as our soul gem isn't broken, we can still live and repair our bodies with magic." Noticing the other's startled expression, she looked at her from the corner of her eye, faking she was slightly surprised. "Oh, didn't you know that?"

"U-uh…" Mami quickly nodded. "Y-yes, of course!" She lied, and giggled sheepishly.

"No wonder." The ebony nodded. "Well, I'll leave you be, now. I just wanted to inform you that my sister and I want you to meet us tomorrow, in the piano class."

"Ah?" That, again, caught her by surprise.

"We still want to defeat Walpurgisnacht, right?" Homura asked, and without waiting for an answer, she turned around to leave. "We'll see you tomorrow, Mami Tomoe. Have a good night."

Said blonde made a gesture with her hand to reach and stop her and opened her mouth to speak, but she cut herself and closed her mouth, putting down her hand again. It would be a waste of time to try and talk to her.

.

"Meooow!"

On the fifth unpredictable attempt to steal the red head's food, Amy made a jump, claws unsheathed.

"No way!" Kyoko managed to block her with her leg, and the she-cat jumped backwards, hissing. "Sistah!" The rebel demanded Homura, who was day-dreaming as she nibbled an apple. "Stop da thief alreadeh! I'm da only one who can steal food, and it can't be stolen back from meh!"

The ebony sighed. "Amy, come here if you want to eat." She said, not too loud, not too low, as calm as if she were ignoring the risk those two had to start cat-fighting.

"Yeah! Go to your momma! She got milk and fish for ya, kitty cat!"

Amy snarled, curling her lips to show her fangs, making Kyoko answer the same way, but she was called once more and obeyed, dedicating the red head a last glare before turning around.

As Homura stroke and fed her tiny friend, she looked at her sister to talk. "Well, Kyoko. How was your hunt?"

"Not bad." She shrugged, folding her pizza for it to perfectly fit inside her mouth. "I kill'd minions and… I found two witches too." She then looked back at her sister. "Ah! Also, I found tha smurf, who was still depressed an' grumpeh." She then filled her mouth and tried to articulate her words. "How 'oug ya?"

"Minions, and a witch." She said, leaning forwards to see the first rubbish bin from the roof and throw with the best of her aim the remains of the apple she had eaten. "Madoka was really worried, as expected. She asked me a few things, and I only answered what I wanted to." She now leaned her head backwards, to look at the moon again. "I talked to Mami as well. We shall gather in 'the piano' tomorrow." When the two sisters spoke, they called that to the music room, and had gotten used to it, though, Homura always gave its true name when she told the others about that place, like Madoka or the blonde herself.

Kyoko's eyes widened, before staring downwards. She swallowed. "Ah…"

Homura frowned, although slightly. "Sister, what is done is done. You must take what happened yesterday as a lesson, but do not let it bother you, just don't let it happen again."

The red head grimaced. "C'mon, HomuHomu. Ya know I dun't give three fucks 'bot a thing. Dun't give meh lessons I ain't need, I alreadeh know thus."

The ebony just stared at her.

"Okay, maybe I give onleh half a fuck, but still, dun't worreh 'but me." She said, now looking serious.

A sigh, and the tall raven-haired stood up to go. "Just remember what I said. I am leaving now. Good night, Kyoko."

"Night, sistah."

.

This time, Madoka was sitting in the darkness of the pink room, obviously waiting for the ebony to come. She wanted to see, to know by herself she was okay, after that dangerous and mysterious mission she had. Her magenta eyes detected a slight movement in the shadows, and then two lavender eyes were inexpressibly staring at her.

"Homura-chan?" She asked, as usual.

"Madoka…" The other looked down, and then, back at her. "Why were you waiting for me?"

"I…" She stared at her blankets, hugging her plushie tighter. "I j-just wanted to m-make sure… you were okay…"

"Of course I am okay." Homura answered. Her voice was as cold as usual, but it sounded a little gentler when she talked to the pinkette, or at least, that was the way she felt it. "I told you I would remain alive." And she would anyways, no matter how, for the pinkette.

"R-right…" She nodded, looking up at her. "Uh… C-can you kneel, Homura-chan?"

The ebony lifted her chin a little, almost as if showing surprise but trying not to be caught off-guard, but then hesitatingly did as told. "What is it, Madoka?"

The pinkette let go of her stuffed bunny, it almost flying towards the nearest wall, and gave the raven-haired a sudden and tight embrace. She felt how the other's muscles stiffened in surprise.

"M-madoka?"

After few seconds, the smaller girl pulled away. "I-I'm sorry, Homura-chan… I just needed to do it."

"...It's fine." The other answered stoically, standing up again. "Are you okay to sleep now?"

"Y-yes… Thank you." She said, giving the other a soft, cute smile before grabbing her plush again and laying down, covering herself with her blankets. "Good night, Homura-chan."

"Good night."

After a few minutes, the pinkette was already asleep, breathing softly and peacefully. Homura approached her again, and stared for a while. "Faré el que sigui… Per tal de protegir-te, Madoka." She whispered in Catalan, and then, stopped the time around her. She moved her hand from her shield and used it to open the door and leave.

She walked through the corridor, went down stairs to the living room and then looked at the TV. The screen was white, with black, shapeless marks flying around inside it, or at least they would if time were still running. Again, they had turned off the digital channels, but had forgotten to do the same with the main machine. The raven-haired herself pressed the button to turn it off, and kept walking, this time, to the entrance door.

Once in front of it, she searched inside her shield for a while, and pulled out a little metallic object: a master key. She unlocked the door, and then locked it again from outside.

Time flowed again, and she turned around to leave somewhere else.

Her steps echoed in the tiles as she walked through countless streets whose names she would never remember, to do her last mission of the day. As she walked, she flicked her hair once more, the watch in her wrist making a short acoustic signal to announce the hour.

12:00, aka 00:00.

It had been a productive day, after all, and so it would be a productive night.


	8. Day 8

12:00, aka, 00:00.

It had been a quite productive day, with emotions going up and down, as usual. But the day was not over to Homura.

The streets were full of witches and minions going around, and there were also several weapons waiting for her. This time… This time she would win. Or at least that's what she always said to herself, in every single time line. But she'd better keep on, for if not…

The soul gem glimmered purple in the pale palm of her hand, as she followed the shiny trail of despair to hunt, feed her soul, protect the city, protect Madoka. As a feline, she walked swiftly and silently, hid her body in the shadows until it belonged to them. She talked to herself no longer, that habit was gone, along with her braids and spectacles. Silence had become her best ally.

"It's dangerous, Amy." She whispered when she noticed the black she-cat following her. "You know I don't want you to follow me when doing things like those. Stay home with Kyoko instead."

"Meooow!" The furry animal protested, padding closer to the raven-haired and headbutting her leg.

The magical girl sighed, and crouched down to stroke it. "No, Amy, no. You've been hurt in other time lines, and I don't want that to happen again."

"Meow." It licked her long, narrow fingers.

"Don't be stubborn." She said, giving it a last stroke and standing up. "My word is definitive. We'll meet tomorrow."

Amy flattened its ears but did as told, running away after a last pleading stare, which was answered by an inexpressive one.

Homura then turned around and ran, putting her gem back into its shell on the back of her left hand, and then, jumped to a roof. She kept running and jumping, heading towards the highest buildings, experienced enough not to make noise with her heels, and then, she ended up in the highest tower.

She could see everything from above, Mitakihara, the sleeping city. As she flicked it, her hair mingled with the darkness and the stars, and her lavender eyes went to look at the emptiness below. She could jump, it would be so easy… But she had more important things to do, she remembered as she stepped backwards a little to think, as she supported her body against the enormous antenna that emerged from the top of the skyscraper.

What was she? An angel or a demon? A warrior or a survivor? Was she dead or alive?

Both. Or neither.

But there was something she knew: She was someone with a single will, her only tiny bit of hope, the only reason for her not to give up.

And she was someone who would be through a restless night of thieving and killing, only for that 'hope'.

.

A skinny figure, prettily flicking her hair, it waving in the air. It was the center of the darkness where she stood, the crescent moon and stars being the only light in that space, as they crowned the lady, making her look more beautiful, and yet, mysterious.

For some reason, the pinkette was beckoned towards her, but the other seemed to notice her and turned around to stab her with her lavender eyes.

"U-uh, sorry, I…" Madoka muttered. "D-do I know you, miss?"

With a cold, solemn expression, the mysterious raven-haired answered. "Maroka!"

"H-huh?" The shorter girl made a step backwards.

"Maroka, wake up!"

Her eyes flung open, finding Tatsuya's face right in front of hers, his voice and the constant sound of the alarm clock about to give her a headache. She gasped.

"Maroka woke up!" The toddler stated, crawling backwards to lay over her legs for his sister to sit up, quickly turning off the alarm clock and groaning. "Maroka, U okay?" He asked.

The pinkette rubbed her eyes and smiled. "I… Hate waking up early, don't you too, Tatsuya?" She asked, winking at him.

"Aye!" He replied, his enormous grin never fading.

Madoka hugged him, and the two siblings walked downstairs to have breakfast, but the girl could never keep her feet in the ground as she wondered what on earth that last dream meant. It had been short, but she couldn't get rid of that kind of attraction towards that girl who kept her out of her comfort zone less often, an attraction she perhaps had started to incubate the last few days. She didn't understand. She had known her for only a week, but felt as if she had seen her before, even shared words, touch and dreams, and yet, she remembered none of those.

Was that a premonition? Or perhaps the time for her to begin questioning her sexual orientation?

She shook her head, suddenly embarrassed, and concentrated on keeping up with the familiar conversations of the day and eating her breakfast so she wouldn't be late for school.

.

A loud gasp, long enough to fill her lungs with all the oxygen she could grasp, before throwing it all in a single, but effective screech. "Hooomuuuuuuuuraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" So effective the ebony almost fell from the tall crane in surprise. Suddenly, she was right in front of her, with irritated eyes.

"Use telepathy next time, Kyoko." She scolded, her voice still impassible despite the tension in her body. "If we don't want to call attention, we are failing miserably."

"But it funnier like dat!" The red head protested.

Homura's brows furrowed a little bit as she started to hear complaining voices from the neighbors. "Then, you'll handle the people by yourself." She said, instantly disappearing.

"Sistah, wait! It was just a joke! Jeez…" She looked around, suddenly surrounded by the angry citizens. "What?!" She snapped, behaving just like when she lived on the street. "Any problem with me, yo?! I am fuckin' crazeh, stay away!" She growled.

One of the men seemed to recognize her. "Careful! She is the street rat Kyoko Sakura! I heard she once killed a homeless guy for food!"

Kyoko grinned. "Ah, good ol' days." She chuckled mischievously. "His food tasted good, his guts tasted bethah."

The people around her started to curse and scream, and as some ran away, others approached to trap her. "I'm sure the police will be glad to see you!" They threatened, grinning wickedly, but shaking in fear.

"Oh?" She licked her lips. "Ya wanna play with me?" She pulled up her sleeves, showing them her fists. "Den let's play, I haven't had fun in ' while."

.

The three friends talked, as they always did, giggling together as if nothing happened. But it was all pretended. The three of them kept secrets from the other two, and that created a new, uncomfortable tension among them. Madoka's mind was always busy with witches, minions, soul gems, contracts and… Homura. And she was also worried about Sayaka, but the bluenette always avoided the questions and the subject that bothered her, and if it finally came out, if the word 'Kamijou-Kun' was used, Hitomi suddenly grew silent.

Where had that harmony gone to?

The false joy had now faded, they were all silent, and the only thing Madoka saw was the cobblestone as she walked, until the sound of other students made her look up, and the first thing her eyes saw was Homura. She didn't know why, but her heart beat stronger, and she couldn't just look away.

The ebony in the distance turned to greet a red head, whose fists were soaked in blood. She said something to her, and the other shrugged. The raven-haired then sighed in apparent dismay and, looking away, handed the other a handkerchief for her to clean the crimson liquid in her hands.

A flash of lavender, and Madoka knew she was now looking at her. She nervously smiled and waved, and Homura replied her with a nod before starting to walk away with her sister. "A-ah, excuse me for a moment!" The pinkette said to her friends, and followed the magical girls.

Hitomi and Sayaka looked at each other. They just shrugged in confusion and kept walking, together in bitterness.

"Homura-chan!" Madoka called, and the other turned around.

"Can I help you?" Homura asked distantly, as Kyoko eyed them as a TV watcher.

"U-uh…" In fact, she didn't know why she had followed them, maybe to run away from the previous situation, but she wasn't sure at all. Fidgeting with her t-shirt, she suddenly spotted a deep gash in the ebony's hand. "Homura-chan!" She exclaimed as she took it with both of hers. "H-how have you got that? I-I should have come with you…"

The coal-haired frowned. Why that sudden approach from the other? Why was she worrying about _her_ all the time? She now realized how dangerous it was the fact that the pinkette knew about the witches. She would always want to follow, put herself in danger, only to make sure the others were okay.

Suddenly, Homura pulled her hand away in an aggressive gesture of rejection. "No." She snapped, colder than ever. "No, Madoka, no." She sighed. "You would only be one more handicap. One more thing to think about. Witches are too dangerous, and one of us would have to look after you all the time."

Kyoko was now, literally, eating popcorn as she watched, luckily ignored by everyone as she became a mere observer.

The shorter girl felt tears forming in her eyes. The girl she now realized she somehow admired was pushing her away. She was right. She would be worthless, just one more good-for-nothing to disturb at the moment of the truth. "Y-you are right…" She murmured with a shaky voice. "I'm-I'm sorry…" She started to walk away, but a sudden hand was placed over her shoulder for her to stop. Startled, she turned around.

Without letting go, Homura was intensely staring at her, her empty eyes now filled with something impossible to describe. "Madoka." She said, her voice tense. She now felt hurt, guilty, terribly sorry for snapping so heartlessly at the one she loved. She just wanted to protect her, but that was not the way, and pushing her away would just make the pinkette approach to danger another way, the wrong way. She always ended up involved, no matter how.

"I didn't mean it." The raven-haired told the pinkette, now making the best of her efforts to keep her mask on. "I don't want you to put yourself in danger. You mustn't forget that wounds in a human can be very grave, but a magical girl is okay as long as her soul gem remains in one piece." Seeing that the other didn't react, she kept talking. "You are not useless at all, and my opinion about you hasn't changed. I just want to protect you, since you are my… friend." Her voice remained as frozen as usual, but now it was gentle, perhaps, a little closer. She made a long, deep sigh. "I'll let you come. But if I sense danger, if I tell you to do something, you do it with no questions nor objections. And if someday I tell you not to follow us, I will know what I will be talking about. Is it understood?"

Madoka finally looked at her, giving her a watery smile. "Th-thank you, Homura-chan…"

And then, as if the TV show she had been watching got to an end, Kyoko began to whistle and clap her hands. The two girls looked at her with widened eyes, the pinkette's face now completely red, but they just earned a grin from her. "And when da kiss?"

"No, sister, no." Homura snapped, keeping her composure with strength and patience, and somehow managing not to blush, neither to slap the red head. "We should head to class now."

"Oh…" The other two blinked, suddenly remembering where they had been all that time.

.

"Mami Tomoe, I am glad you came." Homura welcomed the blonde, putting her hands away from the piano keys as the big-breasted closed the door behind her and Kyoko gobbled up a cupcake. "You may sit, so we can have a small talk."

The eldest swallowed saliva and took a chair with her trembling hand, and the red head clicked her tongue.

"Well, the three of us have a lot to learn about what happened the last day, right?" She slightly tilted her head, and saw how the other two looked down. "Indeed, but that mustn't stop us. We have a common interest, and we must fight until we reach that goal." Her cold voice was now firm, as she took the roll of the _Sempai_ Mami desired so much. But there was no other choice. Again, she would have to take the reins of the situation.

"Where is Kyubey?" The blonde asked, trying to sound as composed as the former. "I know you are related to his disappearing, and I am starting to get tired of your little secrets."

"Stop askeen' 'bout 'im!" Kyoko snapped.

"But we need him!" Mami snapped back, forgetting all politeness. "We magical girls can't live without him!"

"We can." Homura said, as calm as usual. "We don't need him."

"Correction." The red head cleared her throat. "We need him away."

The blonde was silent, as she blinked with widened eyes. "Wh-why do you say that…? He- he has done nothing wrong!"

"Pft- Poor ignorant…" Kyoko grinned.

"Then tell me!" Mami blurted out, angered now.

"Hush." Homura was the third one to snap, but her voice became calm as she spoke again. "If we keep arguing, we will never reach the goal we are looking for." She had them right behind her, unable to see them, and nevertheless, able to picture their faces.

"…But I am a magical girl too." Mami replied, this time softer. "I have the right to know where he is. How am I supposed to even 'trust' you if you won't tell me what you've done to our contractor?"

Kyoko sighed in exasperation.

"…" The ebony stood silent as she thought. She knew that, if she told Mami the truth, she would become insane and suicidal, so she would have to invent something different, or else, tell her half a lie.

"Like he's dead, or somethin'." The red head said carelessly.

"Wh-what?!" The blonde looked at her with widened eyes, and the raven-haired took it as an opportunity.

"Kyubey passed away due to an unknown attack by an unknown being." Homura said, turning around to look at Mami. "We found his slaughtered corpse in an alley. We didn't want to tell you yet, because we know how attached you are to him."

The big-breasted was wordless, as tears of grief and uneasiness started filling her golden eyes. "H-how…? Why…?" She heavily swallowed, as she started to feel her cheeks wet, and she dried them quickly. "What are we going to do now, without him?! W-we are lost… We are dead…"

"We're not." The other two snapped at the same time.

"Kyoko and I have been without him for a long time, and we are perfectly well." The red head nodded as Homura spoke. "If we can, so can you."

"…"Mami was staring blindly at the ground, as she shook a little.

"As comrades, we now have tho take careh of each othah, so? We must punch tha shit outta Walpurgis, and work hard to do so." The rascal now seemed firm and composed, as if there were no pasts to her, and just the will of the future, and the dedication of the present. She was full of energy.

"My sister is right." The ebony agreed. "But I understand that it will be difficult for you two to work together, plus you still have to process Kiyubey's death and grieve, so I'll give you that choice." She felt Mami's eyes slowly lifting to reach hers. "Do you prefer to continue today, or else wait until tomorrow?"

The blonde looked down again. "Maybe tomorrow…"

.

"Okay, classroom, listen up!" Kazuko-Sensei clapped her hands to get as much attention as possible. "There is something important I must announce you!" She grinned as she finally noticed some students listening to her. "As you might remember, you made a work in pairs not too long ago for the Natural Sciences subject." As she said that, her smile turned into a grimace. "Well, since your Natural Sciences teacher is a butthurt who steals boyfriends, I will do something better than her!"

"Oh, wow." Sayaka said wryly. "Let's hope their rivaly doesn't go too far."

"This Wednesday, we will go on an excursion to the mountain, and you will work in teams of five people to identify leaves!"

"B-but teacher…" Nakazawa lifted a trembling arm to speak. "This subject is tutorial meeting… We shouldn't be identifying leaves!"

"That's a good point, indeed!" Kazuko Saotome exclaimed, aiming her white stick at him. It was new, because in every single class, she crooked it or broke it. Some students wondered how she always got the new ones. "Then we'll do something else!"

"Teachers are scary…" Madoka awkwardly murmured, as she attempted to hide behind her book.

"We'll go to the forest anyways! All the teams must separate, and then they must make it towards the base with no help but their own company! And then at home you have to date and write a perfectly composed dossier with a cover and an index and what you all have learned from the experience of the day!"

Hitomi lifted her hand. "And if we have other matters to attend?" She asked, politely and bluntly.

"I don't give two shits!" The teacher broke her stick in two pieces. "This is a thousand times more important!" Her frown then turned into an innocent smile, her tone completely softening. "It's a work for school, after all."

"…." All the students looked at their teacher in terror and resignation, except for Homura, as stoic as usual, and Kyoko, chewing bubblegum with a bored expression.

"Now, make the teams by yourselves!"

All the students stood up, and saluted their teacher. "Yes, Saotome-sensei!"

Madoka and Sayaka stood up and quickly walked towards Hitomi. Despite their mutual tension, the three of them knew who they wanted to work with.

"We need two more, anyways…" The bluenette sighed, plopping into a chair she had pushed near Hitomi's.

"Why don't we ask Homura-chan and Kyoko-chan?" The shorter girl suggested, looking at the two siblings, who were sitting together and talking as if nothing happened.

"The transferred students, Madoka-san?" The girl with the verdant hair looked at them. "I don't know, they are refusing everyone, but, we could perhaps give it a try?" She then glared at Sayaka before the other started to protest.

"Fine…" She sighed again.

"I-I'll go myself!" The pinkette cheerfully said, and quickly headed towards the magical girls, who immediately stopped talking to stare at her.

"Yo, candy-haired." Kyoko greeted with a grin. "What brings ya here?"

"U-uhm…" She nervously looked at red eyes, then lavender, before her magenta gaze went downwards. "I-I was wondering if… If you two wanted to… Well… To work with us?"

Kyoko looked at Homura, expecting her to decide, as usual, what to do in those cases. After all, she knew what she wanted to do, but her street strategies didn't work in those, more meditated and technical cases. She placed the decision in her sister's hands.

Knowing so, the ebony mused about it. If it had been any other, she would have refused them, even if they belonged to Madoka's group, but it was the pinkette herself who was asking that, so she found it reasonable to accept, since they were now friends. "Alright." She said, with a small nod.

The shorter teenager brightened. "G-good! I… Will now tell the others! Uhm- … Bye!" She quickly approached her two human friends to inform them the news.

The red head gifted her sibling with a mischievous grin, but knowing exactly what she meant, Homura looked away. "Don't." She whispered.

Kyoko chuckled.

.

The last subject before going home was P.E. For unknown reasons, Homura always changed her clothes somewhere else. In that uniform, she looked skinny and pale, but fit and athletic. Kyoko had no shame at all, and she was all muscles.

The day's activity was playing volleyball. Madoka spent all the while unable to move her gaze from the ebony, who played in the opposite team. She was good, really good, and she and the red head were guaranteeing their team's victory.

She saw Homura's body, moving with agility like a warrior's, her long, coal-colored hair, swinging prettily and mysteriously at each one of her movements, and how she followed the ball with her lavender eyes, her mind provably shuffling strategies, her guard always high.

But the pinkette's was not, and a sudden ball, sent from a green-eyed brunette, accidentally hit her on the face and sent her to the ground.

All her classmates surrounded her, asking if she was okay, if she was hurt, when all she did was looking confused, covering her nose with one of her hands. She felt a reddish liquid staining them.

Sayaka and Hitomi knelt beside her. "You okay, Madoka?" Asked the tomboy.

"U-uh." The shorter girl nodded.

Homura made her way through the mass of people, and bent the knee too to find herself at the pinkette's height. "Madoka, you are bleeding." She stated bluntly and monotonously, staring at her with no expression at all. "Here." She handed her another handkerchief.

Madoka blushed in shame, feeling the beating pain on her reddened face, but had to accept. "Th-thanks…" She muttered as she took it and covered her nose with it, wiping the blood with it.

Sayaka looked at Homura with mistrust, and Hitomi looked at her with a polite smile, but the raven-haired returned none of the gazes.

The teacher sent Madoka to the bench. The P.E. class was over to her, at least, until she stopped nose bleeding.

.

Taking an afternoon walk after doing her homework, and trying not to get lost this time, Madoka couldn't stop thinking about the same. Why did she feel so attached to Homura, if they had only met a week ago? Why did she feel as if she had spent a month with her? A month… How many times that month? But no, the month was just getting started. It was April the eighth, and Homura Akemi was just a transfer student, who happened to be an expert magical girl, with a tragic destiny, but a careless, cold and secure behavior. What made her so special, if not that? Kyoko was different too, everyone was after all. Then, why was she so attracted by her newest friend?

She heard the chirping of a bird, and looked up at it. It made her smile. She sometimes wished not to be that short, not to see things from beneath. She wanted to fly high as they did, look at her problems from upon, help those she loved, those who deserved it.

The sound of a hit, and the high-pitched sound of the little animal hushed as it fell dead to the ground, bleeding.

The pinkette turned in horror to see the trouble-makers who threw that stone against the poor creature. They were chuckling.

She stood up. They all were taller, stronger, probably older, but that pain in her chest wouldn't allow her to just not interfere. "Wh-why did you do that?!" She asked, her voice shaky. "You are so cruel!"

"Huh? Who are ya?" They asked, spitting to the ground with scorn and superiority. "Get outta da way."

"N-no! Y-you hurt an innocent creature, it didn't deserve it!" Her hands closed into angry and sorrowful fists. "P-please, don't do it again…"

"Dun't tell us whatta do." One of them growled, as another grinned. "Da little mouse wants tho fight, hu?" "C'mon, will ya hurt us if we just dun't listen to yar boring mothery sermon?" Added the third one.

"She won't." A familiar voice warned from behind them, and they turned to see the young beauty standing there. "…but I will."

"Ha?" They chuckled loudly, drops of saliva flying all around, as Madoka whispered her name in surprise.

"Ya came here tho have fun? Come, cheesy gurl, we won't bite!" "Yeah, gal! We true gentlemen!" The kept mocking. "Yar pretty, why don't ya stay with us a night or two, hu?" "Yeah, ya'll never wanna leave us!" "Yeah, bring da pinko too!"

Homura sighed, obviously disgusted by their intentions. They had already threatened Madoka twice, and that was unforgivable. Apparently calm, she walked to stay in front of the pinkette, and then gave the assholes an assassin glare. "You don't know who I am, do you?" She snapped, her cold voice filled with darkness.

"Our worse nightmare?" One of them teased.

"I am Kyoko Sakura's sister."

They all fell silent, swallowing saliva. They had already been beaten up by Kyoko when she still lived on the streets, and she once told them about her sister. Even once, when she was called a red coyote, she grinned and looked down at them with a predator look. " _Yeah, I like dat name._ " She told them. " _And den mah sistah be like a black cat?_ " She grinned more widely, as she licked the blood from her lips, ans stroke the blade of her knife with a finger. " _Beware with da feline, yo. She looks liek a kitty, but is liek a panther or worseh, just like I am not a coyote but deyr leadah!_ " Since then, rumors and legends about those two animal-named girls ran through the streets. All rascals feared and respected them, even though they had never seen Homura.

"Ah, now you recognize me?" The ebony asked, her voice now sinisterly gentler. "You have never heard, though, about what exactly I am capable of…" She put a hand inside the pocket, as if threatening to pull out any weapon she might keep hidden there inside. "…and you'd better leave before you discover it."

"W-we are sorreh, we didn't mean to, we-" They looked at each other, and ran away.

The black-haired turned around to look at Madoka, wondering why she always ended up into trouble, and walked towards her.

The pinkette was kneeling in front of the dead bird, crying into her hands. She pulled them away from her face a little when she noticed Homura kneeling beside her. "H-Homura-chan…" She muttered, sniffling.

"I'm sorry… There is nothing we can do." She said, as she started to dig a hole, not caring if she spoiled her beautiful fingernails like this. "We'll bury it."

Madoka helped her, as more tears escaped her eyes. Then, the ebony softly left the tiny corpse inside the hole, and they both covered it with earth and sand.

"Descansa en pau…" Homura whispered as she softly patted the small grave to make sure it was steady, before she looked at Madoka, who was sobbing again. Hesitatingly, she wiped the sand off her hands and put one over her shoulder. "It is in a better place now, Madoka."

Saying nothing, as she always did, the pinkette embraced the other to cry. The only difference was that Homura didn't hesitate to hug her back this time.

.

When Madoka had calmed, the two girls heard a voice behind then, and lifted their gazes to look at the red head.

"So dere ya were, Homu. Ya readeh tho hunt some witches? I've seen one."

Homura blushed a little and let go of the pinkette to check her glimmering soul gem. She stood up.

The shorter girl stood up as well. "W-wait-… May I come?"

The ebony nodded, and Madoka smiled a little, her eyes still a bit watery.

The three headed towards the place where the witch was localized, and Kyoko opened the barrier for them to enter.

Madoka closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she found herself in Homura's arms. She stared downwards, and instantly held onto her, knowing why.

The ebony and the red head were both standing, with a perfect balance, on some narrow strings, drying clothes hanging from them, nothing below but emptiness. They were surrounded by a blue sky and white clouds, as tables and chairs fell.

Pairs of legs in skirts, socks and ice skates ran towards them, all coming from the insides of the school uniform of a giant being with four arms, two more instead of legs, and no head.

"Patricia…" Homura read. "…and the Mathieus."

As if racing against time, the two magical girls started to run over the strings, killing the minions with spear and gun.

The ebony was able to remember the first time she had to eliminate that witch, in the second time line. Madoka and Mami got rid of the minions as she tightly held onto the strings, the fierce wind shaking her braids and almost throwing her red glasses. When all the minions were dead, Mami created a ribbon path for her, and she stopped time, clumsily running along it, until she was close enough from the witch to throw her one of her home-made bombs –her first true weapon after the golf club- and released time, causing the explosion to scare her. She fell to the emptiness, when Mami's ribbons rescued her, and then there they were, back in the 'real world', the blonde congratulating them both, and Madoka jumping against her and hugging her tightly and excitedly, yelling that it was done, and that the raven-haired had been so cool…

And now there they were, countless time lines later, the polls reversed. Many things had changed since then, and Homura was not the same. Look, Madoka, how strong she had become!

Again, the witch was killed with a bomb inside her skirt, and Homura covered the pinkette from the explosion, she taking the fetal position and pressing her eyes closed, just like the coal-haired had done so long ago.

Homura put her down, and the shorter girl could finally feel firm land below her feet. "Y-you two… Have been so great!" She complimented, still shaking a little.

The ebony turned around to fight back her tears, and flicked her hair. "Come on." She said, when she found her voice steady enough to speak. "We still have a lot of witches and minions to kill."

"B-but Homura-chan… How come that you know the names of the witches?" Madoka curiously asked, cocking her head a little.

"Ah." She turned around to look at her, her tears all gone. "They are written… Somewhere, around the barriers. Look." She took her soul gem, and showed its unseen part to her friend. "Those are the runes witches and magical girls use to 'communicate'."

"Wh-what do they say?" Madoka asked, pointing at the writing in the purple jewel, not daring to touch the other's very soul.

"They say 'Homura', just like my sister's says 'Kyoko'."

"Do dey?" The red head asked, narrowing her crimson eyes to try and read them.

"C-can't you read the runes, Kyoko-chan?" Madoka asked, startled.

"Nu." The former grinned.

"You learn to read those the same way you learn to read any other alphabet." Homura stated, covering her eyes with her hands, in dismay. "I tried to teach her, but…" She sighed.

"But imma too lazy, ya know?" Kyoko shrugged, grinning wider and eating a random cookie.

"Ah…" The pinkette blinked, and both magical girls kept their soul gems on their respective places.

"Well." Homura looked at her sibling, who instantly nodded.

"Let's go!"

.

"My name is Mami Tomoe…" The blonde teenager whispered, as she cradled herself in the sofa, hugging her knees. "I am too scared to die, too alone to live…" She looked up at the ceiling. "Father, mother, once more, I have to say how sorry I am… I guess this loneliness is my punishment… And I really miss you two." She looked at the grief seeds she had recently gotten, and suddenly frowned. "Everything is her fault… If not… If not I wouldn't be this lonely!" And with a sudden strike of her rage, she slapped them away from the table. They rolled, and ended up below some furniture. Mami hug her knees again, and allowed her body to fall side face against the pillows. "Why, why, why…?" She kept asking, and the only answer she got was the echo of the carcass her heart had become.

.

So that was how witch-hunts were… Running restlessly along the whole city and fighting those dangerous, surreal enemies. It was late already when the two magical girls had walked Madoka home -and left before Junko or Tomoisha saw them-, and despite her feeling worthless along the others, she still willed to go with them, for she had been implicated since, a week ago, that witch casually chose her as a prey.

She knew nothing about Sayaka. Again, the bluenette never answered to her calls or messages. She tried to think that the tomboy was too busy visiting Kyousuke Kamijou, so she had put her mobile in silence. At least, that's what she hoped.

Hitomi had been to busy to answer her, again with a completely filled schedule. Madoka was glad she didn't belong to a rich family like her green-haired friend.

"Still awake?" The calm, monotonous voice of the girl she had been waiting for, sounded behind the pinkette in a whisper.

"Homura-chan…!" She turned around and sat up, looking at the other with concerned, glittering fuchsia eyes.

"Is everything alright?" The ebony asked, tilting her head a little, but nothing else about her changing.

"Th-that's what I'd like to ask… Please, come here, Homura-chan." Madoka gestured with her hand to beckon the other.

She hesitatingly obeyed, walking slowly.

The shorter girl took the taller's right arm and pulled up her sleeve. She saw a ring of deformed, reddish skin around it, but nothing else. She sighed in relief.

"I told you I'd be fine." Homura said, softly pulling her limb away and putting her sleeve back down. "Even lost parts of our body can regenerate, with the right time and magic."

From that short length, Madoka hug her newest friend waist, and felt how the other stiffened, but ignored it. "Homura-chan… I was so afraid… I've never seen a m-mutilation before…Witches are really scary…"

"I already warned you about how dangerous they are." The black-haired stated bluntly. "But I also told you that I would protect you, and that I would remain alive. Remember?"

The pinkette looked up into the other's glimmering, lavender eyes. For a moment, she was not intimidated by her penetrating, cold stare.

Homura raised a doubtful hand to softly pat Madoka's head to reassure her, and she earned a small blush as an answer. Perhaps her cheeks were reddish too, but the darkness was masking them, moonlight making her look even paler and spectral.

"G-good night, Homura-chan." Madoka murmured, before she laid down, gazing away and not daring to look at the other's face again.

"Night, Madoka." The coal-haired replied, as she did every night. She didn't want and yet wished for tomorrow to come, so then she would be able to do something about the hunch she was starting to feel, and it grew as minutes passed.

Something heartrending was going to happen, too soon.


	9. Day 9

Madoka woke up with tears in her eyes and a loud, high-pitched gasp, and covered her mouth. She had just seen how Kyoko, and then Homura, were slaughtered by a witch, and she was unable to help it.

After panting for a little while, she realized she had just woken up from a nightmare, whose only truth was the ebony's cut arm, but nothing else than that.

Right now, she felt like when she had watched horror movies with Sayaka the night before, though this time, it had been real, and blood had truly been spilled, but Homura reassured her at night.

How many times would she have to see pain and hatred, and stay there, doing nothing about it? " _And even though you don't realize it, you succeed many times._ " Really? But if Homura was right, why nothing seemed to change around her? " _You would only be one more handicap. One more thing to think about. Witches are too dangerous, and one of us would have to look after you all the time._ " Shame, and pain, and guilt, but… " _I didn't mean it._ " " _I don't want you to put yourself in danger._ " " _You are not useless at all, and my opinion about you hasn't changed. I just want to protect you, since you are my… friend._ " The raven-haired had just been trying to protect her. Now she realized, that at least, she somehow was worth to her. But how? Why?

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"

The pinkette quickly turned off the alarm clock, which had interrupted her endless, low self-esteemed musing, thinking that, at least, she had woken up in due time to get ready and face the new day.

.

The sky above them was covered by a carpet of greyish, gathered clouds that threatened to rain. With the same tension from the day before, the same tension from the path to school, three silent teenagers ate their _bentous_ on the bench of the terrace, none of them daring to speak first.

Hesitatingly, the shortest, who was sitting between the others, attempted to begin a conversation. "H-hey…" She awkwardly murmured. "D-do you think the math homework was easy?"

The other two looked at her, a little perplexed. "Well, Madoka-San." Hitomi said. "If you have taken the right notes in class… It doesn't have to be too hard."

"B-but I still don't understand it…" Madoka sweat-dropped.

"I see… Well, I will help you two whenever you need it, Madoka-San, Sayaka-San." Hitomi gave a small, gentle, polite smile.

"Thank you, Hitomi-chan!" The pinkette returned hers, cute, innocent and sweet.

Another uncomfortable silence.

"U-uh, well…" She decided to try again. "T-tomorrow, on the excursion… H-how do you think we'll find the way back?"

This time, Sayaka was the one who answered. "Easy, Kyoko will make a path for us, eatin' the trees."

The joke was funny, but after the giggles, silence became again the powerful king, and they, its realm.

The poor pinkette sighed in defeat, and once she finished her meal, she packed it and stood up. "E-excuse me for a moment… I… Want to take a walk around the school."

"…I beg your pardon?" The bimbo asked, wide-eyed. Sayaka looked just as shocked.

"I-it's nothing! I… I'll see you back in class!" She hurried away, leaving the other two dumbfounded girls with hanging jaws and confused stares.

Sitting between those two blocked her, tensed her, and she needed her time to handle her own doubts and thoughts. Now, alone in the corridors, she had what she needed: a silent, lonely peace; a moment for herself to muse, at least, until the bell rang.

And then, one of her actual questions came back to her head: Could girls fancy girls? And if they could… Why was she suddenly feeling so attracted towards someone she had only been friends with for a few days? Had she met her before? No, it was impossible.

Unconsciously, her feet led her towards the music room, where she would find the three magical girls. She was distracted enough not to hear the screaming voices inside. Shyly, she knocked at the door, and an unstable, unfamiliar voice told her to come in.

Hesitatingly, she opened it, soon enough to see Homura's widened eyes looking at her before she was deafened by an agonizing scream and blinded by a bitter, strong light.

.

Break time. Kyoko impatiently peered at her sister, who was unpacking her _bento_. "C'mon!" She called. "Da meeting ain't gonna get celebrated 'lone!"

The ebony just sighed in exasperation, and after taking her time to finish what she was doing, she followed after the red head, who was already munching at her taco.

They walked through the corridors, avoiding the curious stares from other girls, and as fast as possible to avoid social interaction as well. They didn't want to be bothered.

They heard comments about them, their behavior, the way they looked like… Some were scornful, others awestruck. Most of the students admired those two mysterious and unusual new girls, who had already shared school with them for a week, and yet, they had never talked.

Homura opened the door and walked in, her sibling closing it behind her. She hid the surprise she felt when she saw Mami Tomoe already inside, sitting on a chair, her head lowered enough for her fringe to hide her expression. Instead, she allowed Kyoko to talk first.

"Ha? Here alreadeh? Ya'r fastah dan what we thought. Wazzup, Mameh?"

The blonde didn't answer.

The ebony walked closer. "Good morning, Mami Tomoe." She politely greeted, as she sat by the piano.

The other's shoulders shook a little, and then she sprung up her head, showing them the grimace that now replaced her usual smile. "Homura Akemi…" She spoke weakly, and yet, with a sorrowful strength on her voice. "…I was waiting for you."

"Hey, wha' 'bout me?!"

Mami ignored her. To her, Kyoko didn't exist anymore. She was dead, like Kyubey, like her parents, like everyone around her… Except for that purple-souled pain in her neck.

Homura peered briefly at her sister with the corner of her eye, before looking back at the blonde. "Do you need something from me?" She coldly asked.

The former giggled uncannily. "When will you stop doing that?" She asked, winking at her.

"Doing what?" Asked the raven-haired, slightly tilting her head. She felt what was happening inside Mami, but she decided to act calmly, not to make things worse.

"Stop being unnecessarily polite." She said, as tears started to stream down her face like waterfalls. "See? I have already removed my mask. It is time for you to remove yours."

The black-haired sucked in a deep breath, and then sighed deeply. "Mami Tomoe…" She said, inexpressively. "Which seems to be the problem?"

Mami blinked in silence, before started to softly giggle again, then laughed louder and louder, until she let go insane cackles.

Kyoko gasped, and stepped backwards, her guard high. "THE FUCK?!" She exclaimed, completely stiffening.

"Your soul gem… Let me see it." Homura commanded.

"H-h-hypocrite…" The blonde whispered, not even caring to dry her tears.

"Now." Homura frowned this time.

"NO!" Mami shouted, standing up. "YOU DID IT! YOU TOOK THEM ALL AWAY!" She gave another watery smile. "It's… Your fault that I'm alone…"

The ebony stood up as well. "Show me your soul gem." She monotonously insisted.

"I SAID NO!" The big-breasted pushed the other against the piano, and its keys echoed painfully in chaos. A loud crack in Homura's spine was also audible, but she never showed signs of pain.

"Mameh… Mameh, staph dis is nonsense, gal!" Kyoko screamed, running to be by her sister's side, but stopped when she noticed Homura, shaking her head as a warning, before both of them eyed Mami again.

"I know it is my fault my parents are not here with me today…" The blonde lamented with a trembling voice, before looking at the coal-haired with swollen, golden eyes that burnt like fire. "But _you_ spoiled all my chances of being with someone!" She started to pant, her balance wobbly, as she stepped backwards and kept shouting. "I had Kyoko, but then she became _your_ follower! I had Kyubey, but _you_ killed him! Yes. I know it was you! It's always you! You! YOU! **YOU**!"

"SHUT UP!" The red head protested. "I AM NOONE'S FOLLOWAH!"

"Mami! Your soul gem! Now!" Homura commanded again, her tone now stern and loud.

"And there is this pink-haired cutie who keeps following _you_ around! What do _you_ have that I don't! Tell me! Tell me I beg _you_!" She exaggeratedly gestured as she screamed.

"Mami!" Homura snapped, gritting her teeth. If the blonde hadn't been in that critical condition, she would have slapped her face. Madoka was not one to be put in those arguments.

"Mameh!" Kyoko blurted out at the same time.

Mami gave a tiny smirk, as she insanely looked into those mysterious, imposing lavender eyes, they now filled with tension. "Oh, you want it…? THEN HAVE IT! I DO NOT WANT IT ANYMORE!" She threw it against Homura, missing horribly, her aim altered due to her unstable mind status. Instead, the once yellow, now bottomless black gem clinged as it hit the ground below a table.

The two not-so-corrupted magical girls headed to pick the jewel up and clean it, but they froze when they heard shy, hesitating knocks on the door. Caught off guard, even Homura gasped slightly. They all knew who it was, but so Mami did.

The blonde grinned. "Come in!" She yelled, as fissures began to appear in her soul, and her expression twisted in pain as she started to scream.

.

Returning to consciousness, Madoka slowly opened her eyes, but then blinked and widened them, when she found herself wrapped in yellow ribbons, hanging from the spout of an enormous teapot. She looked around, following those ribbons with her eyes, only to find out that they came from one of the arms of the nearest creature to her, it wearing a greenish blue dress and a yellow hat. From the other arm, it held two girls in short, black dresses, using red, narrow strings. Those two anthropomorphic minions were horribly similar to Kyoko and the pinkette.

Mysterious, fancy, uncanny runes floated all around the giant table where they were, right in the middle of an eternal tea party, huge dishes with cake slices, and equally big mugs full of many different kinds of teas surrounded them.

Madoka stiffened, pressing her eyes closed, and gasped for air. The ribbons were tightly pressing her body, and it was getting harder for her to breathe.

Suddenly remembering who else she had seen in the piano room when entering, she opened her eyes again, struggling to find some glimpses of red or purple below her, finding enough strength to scream the ebony's name before her vision became blurry again and the lack of oxygen made her faint.

.

Homura shook her head, and looked around to find her sister. It didn't take long to do so, and there the rascal was, her crimson eyes widened in horror.

"Kyoko." Homura called, as she approached her, earning a confused stare from the other. "We have no time to lose."

The red head swallowed saliva and nodded, changing into her fighting outfit and tightly grabbing her spear. "Yeah, let's go." She agreed at the end.

Shield in arm, the raven-haired started to run, hearing the quick, not so silent footsteps of her sibling near her, lavender eyes moving non stop, building the scene inside her mind. In her altered mental condition, Mami had somehow known she was going to decay, and as she thought her loneliness was Homura's fault, she wanted the ebony to experience the same, and attracted the one she intuited she cared for inside her labyrinth. That was the reason why the coal-haired was so uneasy inside that barrier: she knew Madoka was in danger.

"H-Homura-chaaan!"

They both heard the high-pitched cry and followed it as fast as their legs could carry them, until they arrived and saw the already unconscious pinkette hanging from the witch's ribbons.

"Candeloro." Homura read, as fast as she could. She knew those runes were messages for her to receive. "Now I remember." What? What did she remember? "You are the one who never passes away. You always take them all away from me. You always let me die." But… "You were such a nice _Kouhai_ , but Madoka preferred you."

"Sistah?! What she talkin' 'bout?!" Kyoko demanded, looking at her with a shocked frown.

"You took my hope from me. Now I'll do the same with yours." Homura lowly gasped. The dress-up witch apparently remembered every time line now, but blinded by despair, she distorted everything, filling her memories with sorrow and hatred, replacing the happy moments with anger and suffering. Candeloro would keep the pinkette for herself, as a desire and as a revenge.

The black-haired's fringe projected a shadow over her face, hiding her eyes, as her head was bowed with a sudden fear, anger, and protecting will. "No one…" She murmured, as she started to walk, ignoring her sister's surprised calls. "No one…" Her steps became faster as she started to run, ignoring the minions who tried to stop her. "No one…" As a bullet, she ran against the witch, who outsized her three times, as the shortest witches did. "No one hurts Madoka down my watch." She whispered to herself, hand in shield, as she seeked for the proper weapons to use.

The startled she-minions attempted to chase their newest target when a spear, held by an enraged magical girl, blocked their paths.

"Nuh-uh." Kyoko spat and grimaced. "You mine bitches!" She knew Mami would never be back, but no matter how she wanted to, she couldn't fight her. She knew her sister intended to save Madoka, and give a lesson to those who dared to lay an evil hand on her. And she also knew that she had to make someone pay for what had happened to Mami, and that 'someone' were the two minions she had laid scarlet eyes on.

An agile body dodged the witch's strikes, except the one who would push her upwards. With the help of a jump, she was now holding onto one of the ascendant ribbons that finished wrapped around the human's tiny body. It would be worthless to stop time because physical contact would keep Candeloro awake, so Homura would have to be quick. The witch was already brutally flailing to make the veteran let go and fall down.

The sudden movements threatened to wake Madoka up, and she winced and unconsciously whined, gulping air as the pressure around her tightened.

Homura found a knife inside her shield, and with quick and expert hands cut the ribbons. As she fell, she heard Mami's voice screaming in pain, and she struggled to remember her enemy was the blonde no longer, but her decayed form.

Gears started to spin with a soft noise, and now she was the only one able to move, defying the laws of time. She gifted herself with one extra second to check how Kyoko was doing, and saw her stabbing the red-haired minion with frenetic movements, as the pink-haired one was in the air, thrown away to be killed later.

Her feet and heals echoed against the ground of the paralyzed barrier when she finally reached it, and then ran to situate herself below Madoka, and then allowed time to flow again.

The pinkette woke up and gasped, the cut ribbons turning into yellowish dust, and she fell on Homura's arms. She squealed.

"Shhh… Don't fear." The ebony spoke with a fake calm, and the shorter girl looked at her with widened eyes as she panted, then hug her tightly and shook.

The mutilated witch flailed for a while before turning around to face them. The raven-haired softly left Madoka on the ground, and the pinkette looked up at her, still panting a little, hugging herself now.

The ice-queen turned around and threw a bomb against the witch, it making her collide against a huge mug before exploding. Then, she turned around to protect Madoka from the flying pieces of porcelain, which stabbed her back and made her bleed, but disappeared along with the barrier.

The ebony left the shorter girl once more when the danger was gone, and turned around to face her sister, hearing a gasp from the shorter girl, who had seen her blood, but ignored it. She walked towards her sibling, who was kneeling in the ground. "You'll need this." She said, offering the recently earned grief seed.

Kyoko looked up and took it, but then stared deeply at it. Finally, she sighed, her back hunched. "I… Can't use dis." She said.

Homura understood why, and searched inside her pocket to find Patricia's. She handed it to the rebel as well, and was not surprised when she saw the quantity of darkness she removed.

The red head sighed and kept both grief seeds, then punched the wall, earning a tiny gasp from Madoka, and new bruises and blood in her naked knuckles. "Sistah…" She then said, looking up at her and then at the piano.

The raven-haired answered with a small nod, and walked to sit in front of the instrument, fingers on keys, feet on pedals. They only had the rest of break time to grieve Mami, hidden from the curious eyes from ignorant classmates and other humans.

The pinkette looked at the other as she expertly played a doleful song with closed eyes, and at Kyoko, who was now putting her hands together, praying silently.

The two magical girls were physically wounded, ignoring their blood. The two magical girls were psychologically wounded, letting go abstract tears, never removing their masks, always strong but delicate their own way.

She stood up, her knees still shaking, and sat beside Homura, leaning her head against her shoulder and sobbing silently. She hadn't had the time to know Mami, but she imagined how full of despair she must have been to finish like that. Some day, the other two would end up in a similar way, just like millions of other girls before, and that broke her heart, so she gladly joined their short grieving…

…until the bell rang, just like it did every single day.

.

Back in the class, and just like every day, nothing seemed to change to humanity. The sun was completely covered by dark, rainy clouds, and so no more light filled the class, except for the artificial one. The teacher worked to be paid, the students worked to pass the subject, except for some, who were distracted, talking or sleeping. The teacher would soon notice and then scold them.

Kyoko and Homura kept their masks on, perfectly faking everything was okay. The only difference was that the red head was not eating.

Madoka admired them, and wished to be able to dissimulate her feelings that easily, but as usual, she failed, and Hitomi and Sayaka dedicated her strange gazes and questioning looks. She smiled reassuringly at them, and waited for them to turn back around to sigh in defeat.

A pale hand was suddenly lifted to call the adult's attention, carelessly interrupting the class, and so his math explanation.

"Akemi-San?" He asked. "What do you want?"

"May I go to the nurse office?" She asked, her voice low, but firm and calm. "I am not feeling well."

The man narrowed his eyes, but then seemed to remember something and nodded in resignation. "Sure. The nurse's assistant shall walk you there, then."

The pinkette was suddenly awaken from her musing. "U-uh, yes." She stuttered in confusion.

"Thanks." Homura stood up to leave.

Madoka hurried to follow her, and they both walked out of the class, the ebony faking she was following the other, until they were all alone in the corridors, and then walked side by side.

"Homura-chan… Are you okay?" The shorter girl asked, looking up at her worriedly.

"It's nothing." The raven-haired replied, looking back at her, before looking forwards again.

Madoka did the same, but spoke again. "I-it is rather surprising… This teacher usually asks for g-good reasons for students to l-leave the class, but…H-he didn't question you." She commented innocently, trying to figure out why that happened.

The former just hummed a little, and then lightly shrugged. She was a transfer student, and was not supposed to know those things. And yet she knew the files about her past heart condition were somewhere in the school, and every single teacher had taken a look at them. That was why the P.E. teacher looked so surprised when she made new records, even in the hardest activities. Homura just faked her own ignorance.

They opened the door, and again, found that place empty and silent, except for the droplets of water against the windows and the ground outside. They walked in and closed the door, the ebony taking a seat and turning her soul gem into the egg-shaped jewel.

Madoka gasped, as she saw all the darkness floating inside it. Homura hadn't cleaned it before, and the once purple jewel now looked like a cage of bats.

The magical girl used another grief seed to purify it. First, she had thought she would perfectly control, but Mami's decay twisted her mind even more, and paranoias of failing the time line filled her already traumatized mind. But now, it was fresh and lighter, her soul gem glimmering again. She breathed deeply and kept the witch's soul again inside her pocket, turning her soul gem into a ring.

The pinkette took a seat beside her, and fidgeted a little, looking downwards. "Th-thank you…" She whispered.

"Hm?" Homura looked at her.

"F-for saving me again…" The tiny fourteen-year-old teenager murmured.

The ebony just nodded, and the sound of rain filled the place again.

"Are you scared, Madoka?" Asked the magical girl, when she noticed how nervous the girl she loved was.

"I-" She started, looking at her, but cut herself and looked down again. "Y-yes…"

"No wonder." Homura answered, blinking. "But I told you I would protect you, and that hasn't changed."

"I-I know…" The pinkette murmured, hugging herself again. "H-Homura-chan… What… About Tomoe-San's parents? T-they… Will cry when s-someone tells them… that… That Tomoe-San-…" She cut herself off, not even daring to finish her sentence.

"Mami Tomoe had no close relatives." The ebony replied bluntly. "Soon enough, the teachers will notice her disappearance. I bet the news are already spreading like fire, and maybe Sayaka Miki tells you once you come back." She let out a small sigh. "Now that she is dead…" She had less problems than the other to state the truth that easily. "…she won't mind if I tell you… what she wished for."

Madoka looked at her, wordless by confusion, fear and shock.

"Some years ago, the Tomoe family was driving when they ended up having a car accident, whose cause I do not know." She explained. "Mami Tomoe was dying, when Kyubey offered her a wish. Without thinking it twice, she asked him to save her life, forgetting about her parents. When she realized it, the contract was made, and it was too late."

"….." Wordless, Madoka shook, as she bended downwards, hugging herself tighter. "Wh-why…?" She finally murmured, with a trembling little voice. She didn't expect the world to be so cruel, life to be so hard, to some people almost no one knew. She grieved for the dead blonde, feared for the ebony and the red head, and imagined every single magical girl who, dead or witch, finished her horrid life with a bad end.

"You can save yourself, Madoka." Homura said. "Your life is ok, almost perfect, and there are people around you who love you very much… People who would truly twist in the deepest suffering if they lost you." She started to rub the pinkette's back in a soothing attempt. She had seen her crying almost every day, and just like one single smile of hers could brighten a heart, a single tear of hers could break it… And yet Madoka was so selfless she never realized how important she was… To someone. "Since that first witch attacked you, you have been involved in this, so I let you come with us sometimes. But stay away from any contract. Some people's lives were already ruined, some had something more important than it to fight for, and made the wish, not even knowing it would twist and worsen everything… Don't ruin the life you have, the life you love and deserve. Do it for you, and for everyone who appreciates you."

The pinkette looked at her, her eyes wet with unshed tears.

"Never forget my pieces of advice. I've seen enough to know what I am talking about, for I am a veteran. Then, will you?" Her lavender eyes never left the watery magenta ones, staring with seriousness, never showing the care she felt.

"I-I w-wont… I won't forget…" She murmured, rubbing her eyes.

"Good." She was now looking down, taking her hand off the other's back. If that time line ended up like others, she _would_ forget, not only that but everything. A complete reset, just like a video game, but as real and heartrending as life itself. "…And… Do it for me too… Okay?" She whispered, not daring to look up anymore. What was wrong with her? Why the hell had she said that? Her reputation was in danger to be ruined!

Madoka looked at the ebony, shock filling her eyes along with the tears that kept forming, but to Homura's surprise, she replied her with a tiny little smile. "Th-thank you…" She murmured, feeling a small, unexpected joy inside her when she realized that, after all, the girl she somehow admired cared about her, counted on her. What did that mean? She didn't know, but she felt a little better now, only with that.

A loud racket, that left Homura impassible, but it was followed by a tiny squeal. "…It's just thunder, Madoka…" The ebony said, and the pinkette looked away, blushing with embarrassment. "Do they frighten you?"

"N-no, they-" Another racket, another squeal. "W-well, a-a little…" The shorter girl giggled sheepishly. "T-they are too sudden, b-but I am not scared of them!" She saw Homura so mature, and she felt so ridiculous…

"Mhm…" The other supported her chin over her pale hands, her fingers interlaced. "I used to be scared of them too." She admitted. "When I was a child, I hid under my blankets, and didn't come out until the storm was over." And yet she now loved the rain, and thunders were just as relaxing.

Madoka smiled. "H-how adorable, poor Homura-chan…" She said, thankfully surprised.

A sudden, deep blush, that turned almost white into red, and the former cleared her throat, quickly standing up and walking towards the window. Perhaps she had gone too far… "But that was long, long ago, I think I was… five?"

The pinkette giggled, but was unable to repress another squeal as a third thunder struck.

Homura looked at her. "You should head back to class… Try not to squeak in there."

"U-uh, right…" She blushed again, and stood up. Suddenly, the artificial lights blinked, and the light bulbs turned off. They heard the muffled screams from other classes, the typical students who enjoyed to dramatize fear at happenings like those. She gasped. "Wh-wha-?"

"It's just a power outage." She heard the other's calm voice. "…Probably due to the storm."

Madoka desperately attempted to tentatively reach the other in the dark, but her knee collided against something left in there, a chair, maybe. "Homu- ow!"

"Hold on." Said the other. She heard steps, and then a tall presence nearby. "There." She felt the soft touch of narrow, steady fingers on her shoulder.

"H-Homura-chan!" She reached for the other's hand, and held it tightly. Purple, glimmering eyes were the only thing Madoka could see, besides the nearest silhouettes to the window, touched by the dim light clouds allowed to pass through them.

"Afraid of the dark too?" The ebony asked, slightly tilting her head.

"N-no, I-" The tiny pinkette jumped with one more squeal when she heard a thunder, and immediately pressed her body against Homura's, as if entering a nonexistent embrace, now not even noticing how the other girl stiffened at the physical contact. She was like a living dead, and yet, so warm. "W-were you scared of the dark as well…?" She asked, looking up at the taller girl.

"…I just got used to it." She whispered in reply. No matter how hard she tried, she was unable to remember most of her childhood, but something inside her told her it hadn't been pleasant. Anyways, those memories meant nothing to her, now. She was not the same, the weakling was dead, or at least, she hoped so.

"I-I see…"

When the pinkette nodded, Homura felt the tips of her pink hair tickling her neck. She tried to ignore that feeling, not to shiver awkwardly, neither to soften due to Madoka's warmth. Instead, she just softly patted her shoulder. "Light will come back soon, so don't worry." She said, as cold as always.

"O-ok…" Madoka nodded again, and hug the ebony.

Stiffening again, Homura turned her soul gem anew into that egg-shaped jewel, and surrounded Madoka with the same arm, approaching the gem to her, its purple light shallowly filling the room, at least, allowing them to see.

The pinkette blinked, and looked around to find the chair her knee hit before. She then looked at her surroundings: the same infirmary of always, but different due to the purple light. It was kind of sinister, but also mysterious, apparently magical, as if it had come from a fantasy novel. Without noticing, she hugged Homura a little tighter.

They stood like that for a while, until lights returned with no previous warning, making them squeeze their eyes shut, used to it no longer. Homura let go of Madoka. "Go back to the class, tell the teacher I went home. He'll ask no questions."

"What… Are you going to do?" Madoka dared to ask.

"…To continue with my duty." She turned around and, as she opened the window, a breeze of wind that carried drops of water greeted her, swinging her long, coal-colored hair, making her look even more epic. She never realized.

"W-wait!" Madoka ran as she saw her sitting at the edge of the window, lifting her chin, her clothes already wet.

"I'll see you later." Homura said calmly. "Farewell, Madoka." And with that, she jumped forwards, transforming before landing on her feet, and then running away, leaving a very shocked Madoka inside the enormous building the school was.

.

Lunch, and the usual smiles had turned into concerned expressions, as her parents filled Madoka with questions, and Tatsuya tried to listen, understanding nothing, half his food accidentally sent away from his dish due to his inexperienced grip on his fork.

All the pinkette could answer was that Tomoe-san suddenly disappeared, that Sayaka-chan, Hitomi-chan and her had to dodge policemen to get out from school and go back home, their umbrellas just another handicap. She couldn't tell the truth she had experienced with her own eyes, the truth that would make it impossible to sleep that night. She had to keep everything inside, and that made her feel a deep emptiness and sorrow. Was that another feeling only magical girls had so often?

At least, she didn't need to fake joy, for it was perfectly understandable for a student to be concerned about a disappearance in their own school.

A while later, she handed her parents a paper. It had to be signed by them if they wanted their daughter to go to tomorrow's excursion.

They discussed for a while, not wanting their precious daughter to be the next one to disappear, but at the end, they agreed to let her go.

Once it was done, Madoka went upstairs to her room and locked herself in it, to do her homework. Later, she would have a shower and play with her little brother, as she had promised to him before closing the door.

She thought about how the other two would be fighting outside, and found her life so simple, yet so unfairly safe.

.

"Welcome home, Kyoko." Homura greeted, as her sister took a seat beside her and the she-cat on her lap curled up in a small ball.

"Geez." The red head kicked her legs against the emptiness, opening a box of pocky. "Ya really are full o'gunpowdah. Ya've taken a profit from yar free time, hu?"

Homura knew better than to argue after what had happened, though she hadn't considered that time as 'free'. The rain was slowly washing the dark-colored mortal dust from her skin and clothes, and she limited herself to untangle her wet hair with a hand, as she stroke Amy with the other, who was soaked as well.

"Anyway' I have somethin' fo' ya, from dha school." She saw how those purple eyes were back to look at her. "Teachah has given us dat stupid papah. She wants our parents' signature or sometheen, if we wanna go tomorrow to da woods." She explained. "I hope yar good at fakin' signatures."

"I am." She answered, looking down again at Amy, who was softly purring, ignoring the rain. The only water that seemed to bother the tiny stray-she-cat was that of the shower and the bathtub.

"Good." Kyoko grinned. "I'll den show ya my pa's signature, on da bible I brought when I came to live here." She offered the red box to his sister, and kept it as soon as she accepted one of the sticks, before they got wet. "What will ya do, BTW?"

"…" Homura now realized she hadn't thought about that. She perfectly remembered how her parents looked like, even their signatures, but not their names, and she had better things to do than going to check them. "…I'll just write 'Akemi'."

"Yeah, It'll do." The red head stated, apparently no longer interested. "Well, let' go. We hav' things tho do, dun't we?" She asked, standing up.

"…Mhm." Knowing what the rebel was talking about, she picked Amy up and got to her feet, it immediately jumping to her shoulder.

.

"He is not up to visits right now." The nurse told her with a careless expression. "Come back tomorrow."

"I _can't_ come back tomorrow." The bluenette snapped. "I-I can wait until he is done!"

"…Very well." The nurse said, and walked away.

Sayaka sighed, holding her umbrella tightly enough to earn some cracking sounds from it. She _had_ to do it, she _had_ to see him, even though it only were to give him company and failed at comforting him, but she _had_ to. She had known Kyousuke Kamijou since they were children, and really loved appreciated him as a friend.

Sadly, she was unable to return him the hope, the vigor he once had. She was unable to return him his left arm, and he would play the violin no longer without it.

Gritting her teeth, she couldn't help to think that all of those fairy tales from her childhood, where there was a happy ending and justice always worn, were nothing but lies.

.

The two girls bowed in front of the stone where they had carved Mami Tomoe's name, date of birth and death, after sinking it deep onto the ground so it would never move.

No one visited that part of the graveyard, which they had started to build as an expanse, but the project was left really soon, and the place, forgotten. The ground was all sand and dirt, an enormous weeping willow crowning it. It was a good place to be used as a tribute to a magical girl.

Kyoko whispered her praying, her hands together, her fingers interlaced.

Homura just stood silently, listening to her sister, but never voicing her thoughts. She considered there was nothing for her to say, the red head was already filling the silence, just as the rain drops did.

"… _amen_." The rebel pulled out her pocky box, and helped herself before offering it to the ebony, who took one as well. Again, she kept it. "Well. What we gonna do now?" She asked, as if nothing had happened.

"…We are going home and cook dinner." Homura answered, standing up and flicking her soaked hair.

"'Kay." Kyoko stood up as well, licking the water drops on her face.

And then, the two magical girls disappeared in the darkness of the storm, no sun to be filtered by the clouds, they now masking the moon and the stars.

.

Darkness, and the pinkette didn't dare to make a single movement. If she stood still, maybe the witches wouldn't notice her. Every single part of her body was safely covered by the blankets, so there would be nothing to fear, right?

But her childish hopes didn't help this time, and she was getting stressed, hugging her plushie tightly enough to choke it, if it were alive. She shook.

Another thunder, and, just like in the infirmary, she squealed, embracing her stuffed bunny even tighter.

"Scared again?" Homura's voice surprised her enough to gasp.

"H-Homura-chan!" Madoka emerged from below the blankets, looking up at the other.

"You're okay, Madoka. There is only you and me in here, so no one can hurt you." The ebony whispered, kneeling beside the other's bed. "And your parents and your brother… They are inside the same building."

"I-I know… Sorry… I can't help it…" She guiltily looked downwards.

"It's not your fault." The former whispered, coldly but reassuringly. "Today has been a tough day, so it's reasonable if you are scared."

Madoka looked up again. "A-are you scared too, Homura-chan…?" She dared to ask.

"…I'm used to experiences like those." She just said, averting her eyes. "You should sleep, Madoka. We have an excursion on the morrow."

"R-right…" The pinkette murmured, but hesitated.

The raven-haired sighed, and reluctantly offered her her bony hand. "Here…" She whispered.

Madoka took it. It was warm and dry, even after walking down the storm. Magic, perhaps? She hugged it to her chest, and closed her eyes. "G-good night, Homura-chan…"

The taller girl felt Madoka's collarbone against her knuckles, and stiffened a little bit, but eventually relaxed and sighed again. "Good night, Madoka."

And then, the only sound that filled the room was the soft whisper of the rain.


	10. Day 10

00:00, and Madoka kept twisting around in her bed, still holding that warm hand that managed to, at least, let her know she was safe, but it was not enough to make her sleep.

The low beeps of Homura's watch indicated her what time it was, and she sighed when the pinkette gasped a little as she heard it. "Still awake?" She rhetorically asked, and the other looked downwards.

"S-sorry..." The smaller girl whispered, wide awake.

"We seem to be getting nowhere..." The ebony murmured. She knew how insomnia worked, and at that point, Madoka would never fall asleep if they just stayed like that.

The pinkette shrank a little more, but looked upwards when she felt Homura's hand slipping away from her grasp. "W-wait! P-please, don't leave..." She begged, but suddenly jumped backwards when a pair of sneakers and a jacket appeared right in front of her face.

"Put these on..." Homura commanded, leaving them on her lap. "...Or else you'll catch a cold." Noticing the other's confused stare, she looked towards the window. "Since there is no way you'll fall asleep, I am going to show you something."

"U-uh-huh." Still a little confused, Madoka obeyed, and when she was done, the raven-haired suddenly picked her up, just like two days earlier, when they entered Patricia's barrier. She gasped.

Homura closed her eyes, creating that magical barrier that would protect her from the rain. She hadn't felt the need to use it before, but now, if she made a little effort, she would project it outwards, and it would surround them both.

When the ebony stepped out the window, the pinkette prepared herself to feel wet, but she didn't. She looked up at the other, whose lavender eyes were searching for something, deep in the distance.

"Hm." The taller girl was agile enough to close the window with one of her legs, supporting all their weight on the other. She jumped, earning a squeal from the other, and landed onto the ground. She started to run.

"H-Homura-chan... Where-?" She asked, cutting herself off with a squeak when another thunder echoed in the distance, and holding on tighter to the other.

"We'll soon be there." The paler girl answered, never stopping running.

And it was true. It didn't take long to reach the city, it empty due to the rain and night. The raindrops were easier to see below the streetlights. They were small but many, and fell fast.

Homura's heels splashed against the big puddles that were forming due to the storm, but soon enough, she started to climb a house with tall jumps. "Shhh..." She gently said when she heard Madoka gasping. "We'll be there soon." She repeated.

The pinkette nodded, still holding tightly and trying not to look downwards. Those heights where they were situated, as the one who carried her leaping from building to building, were too much for her. She leaned her head against the other's neck, and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think about kitties and doggies and bunnies. Suddenly, she felt herself lowered, and opened her eyes to find herself seated on concrete, her back supported against a huge antenna. She had the bad idea to look downwards, and gasped.

"Shhh..." Homura reassured her, taking a seat beside her. "Being a magical girl makes you feel secure enough to climb here, but..." Her lavender eyes looked deeply into those agitated, magenta ones. "...doesn't being with a magical girl make you feel something similar?"

As Madoka was now looking at her with an uneasily surprised expression, she pointed to the landscape in front of them. "Look." She said.

Doubtfully, the pinkette did as told, and gasped again, this time in surprise.

From that skyscraper, they saw the whole city of Mitakihara, the silhouettes of the towers and buildings lined by the dim, bluish light, as each and every single window glittered with different colors. It caused Madoka a deep vertigo, and yet, a huge awe.

"G-gorgeous..." She whispered.

"I come here every time I can." The veteran explained. "It's relaxing, even more now that it's raining."

The pinkette looked again at that inexpressive face, savouring that monotone voice, somehow getting the feeling that she was beginning to understand her when something flashed into the distance, with the shape of an upside down tree, it followed by another loud racket that made her squeal anew. She leaned against Homura's collarbone, hugging her waist and delighting in the view, to soothe herself. It somehow worked, slowly.

Finally, the ebony acknowledged her by gathering her in her arms, still looking at the landscape below and in front of her.

That was the city she fought to protect every single day of her meaningless life, only to make sure her precious bundle was safe. A whole city for a single person. So wry, she thought.

She then looked down at the girl in her arms. Madoka's breathing was much more calmed, her eyes finally closed. She seemed so peaceful, looked so innocent, that Homura felt the urge to cradle her, but never did so. It was not like her. Instead, she looked forwards again, a low hum escaping her throat, and waited.

.

Kyoko looked deeply at the dark liquid inside the crystal bottle she was holding. "Daaaamn." She snarled, leaning backwards against the bench where she sat. "Why she so late?" She looked around, and spat. The saliva mixed with the rain, and fell onto a puddle, making a tiny splash. She lifted an eyebrow, slightly amused, and started to spit, the further she could, playing this little game to distract herself instead of drinking the whole thing from the crystal container she had, tightly gripped with her left hand.

"That's gross." Her sister's voice said calmly, as she seemed to emerge from the rain itself.

"Hu." The red head wiped her mouth with the back of her free hand. "Where were ya?"

Instead of answering, Homura took her seat beside the other and asked a question herself. "Where did you get that?" She asked, pointing to the bottle.

"Ah, well." Kyoko grinned, her fang glimmering just like both girls' eyes. "Dat old man ast me tho help 'im widh his bag, and I says 'nu imma busy', and he says 'if ya do so I'll give ya dis'..." She slightly shook the bottle in front of the other to underline her words. "...and I says 'okie den'. But I was waitin' for ya tho try eet too."

"Hm... How considerate of you." The ebony whispered, inexpressibly.

"Well, I take da first gulp anyway. Cheers." She pulled the cork out of the bottle with her teeth and spat it, then took a long and wide sip. Suddenly, she quickly removed the bottle from her mouth, and forced herself to swallow it, so then she wouldn't be wasting drink. "D-da fuck?!" Her voice sounded chocked with disgust as she grimaced. "Dey say dis shit is made o' grapes but it ain't taste like grapes!"

Homura facepalmed herself. "It's wine." She patiently explained. "You are supposed to drink it slowly, and not too much."

"Oh." Kyoko then shrugged. "Well, if we're old 'nough tho sentence our lives, we're old 'nough tho get drunk." And again, she started to gobble off the liquid.

"No." The raven-haired took the bottle away from her. "We have an excursion tomorrow, remember? You don't want to be through a hangover, by then."

The red head growled. "'Kaaay..." Then, she stood up. "And where dha real chow?"

The paler girl sighed. "Let's grab some snacks, but after that, we'll continue with our duty."

"'Kay, mom." The former then started to walk away, leaving her sibling alone with her exasperation to catch up.

.

She could still hear it, that voice humming a soft tune, maybe folk or celtic. It, the sound of the rain, and the warmth around her, had lulled her to sleep. She could still feel herself inside that calm atmosphere, a new feeling to her, yet not the only new one she had experienced in that month.

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"

A groan as she was ripped off her bliss and sleep, and magenta eyes slightly opened to take a look at her surroundings.

Madoka found herself inside her own room again, as if nothing had happened. Sighing, she sat up to turn off the alarm clock, but suddenly spotted her sneakers in front of the bed, and her perfectly folded jacket on the table.

Those were the only proofs she had of what had happened last night. After all, it had been _real_.

Now that the room was finally silent, the melody was again inside her mind, and the pinkette enjoyed every single note she remembered, gifting herself with a small minute to pay attention to it, before she begun with her daily routine.

.

Homura clicked her tongue, feeling the soaked edges of her black trousers sticking against her thin legs. It was raining no longer, but with a Kyoko jumping on puddles as they headed to school, it was already equal to a storm.

The red head, who was wearing her green hoodie and brown trousers over her characteristic red boots, grinned at the sight of her annoyed sister, drops of water even staining her purple hoodie, and her black, military boots completely wet.

"You don't look any better." The ebony protested, as stoic as usual. "You were the one jumping, so your clothes are damper than mine."

"But yar de one who'll have tho wash 'em!" Mocked the red-haired, as she ate a cereal bar.

"Water does evaporate, Kyoko." The former said, looking away.

"Oh, right."

"Is everyone ready? Give me your permissions, then!" The teacher spoke, after checking that everyone was there, with their more sport-like clothes, before opening her hands for everyone to hand her the signed papers. "Remember you will sit in pairs, and to improve the team work, you'll switch partners every time the bus makes a stop."

"Seriously?" Sayaka sweat dropped.

Hitomi shook her head. "This teacher has... Serious problems."

"M-my mother said... She would try and get her a-a... B-boyfriend?" Madoka stuttered, trying to hide the slight blush on her cheeks as she said that, knowing that her blue-haired friend would probably mock that.

And so she did. "Pffft. Well, extreme situations require extreme measures, right?" She chuckled.

The greenette just looked at Kazuko with a saddened expression. "I just pity that peasant... So much." She sincerely stated.

"Hm..." The other two looked at the teacher as well.

"Alright, everyone! Into the bus!" She commanded, unaware of the worried eyes on her.

"Yes, Saotome-Sensei!" The students' voices echoed, strong enough to make Homura wince a little. She found those screams unnecessary, but there was nothing to do.

"Humeen'..." Kyoko spoke for both of them, though, she was a box of loud noises too.

.

As it was expected the five members on the group sat the most predictable way. Sayaka and Madoka forwards, so then the pinkette wouldn't feel dizzy. Homura and Kyoko behind everyone, underlining their own personalities and reputations.

Hitomi had to sit with some other girl of some other group. Why five people, instead of six? Instead of filling her mind with unanswered questions, she foccused on her own politeness and manners, making the journey as calm as pleasant for the two young teenagers.

"Kyoko, the rules say not to eat inside the bus." The ebony scolded, but right when the red head was about to protest, the driver started his usual speech, explaining the rules and conditions, before wishing everyone a good trip.

Then, the teacher started to talk with him, informing about the recent disappearance of an older student.

Madoka, who was close enough to hear them, bit her lip as she remembered the scene, what truly happened.

"Man, I hope they find her soon..." Sayaka whispered.

"Y-yeah..." The pinkette looked down, the heaviness of the truth inside her causing a lump inside her throat.

Noticing her friend's attitude, and thinking it was her usual concern and care for others, the bluenette decided to do as she always did, and grinning, she pocked the shorter girl's side, earning a squeak before the victim covered her own mouth.

"S-sayaka-chan?"

"Madoka, you are such an easy target!" The tomboy chuckled lightly in amusement.

Blushing, Madoka pouted. "Y-you are mean..." She tried to look away.

The former grinned wider, and tackled her friend again, this time with a hug. "Yup! You've just befriended the devil!" She joked.

The pinkette giggled, returning the hug. "N-no, you are not that mean."

"Just wait and see!" Sayaka threatened, before starting to tickle the other.

"S-sayaka-chan!" The victim squealed helplessly, between giggling and worthlessly flailing in self-defense. "N-not here!"

At this, countless eyes peered at them, and the two girls blushed. Madoka lowered her head in complete embarrassment, and the bluenette glared at them. "We were just playin'. What are you looking at?"

Their classmates turned around, leaving them be at once.

.

The gates of the bus opened, and a starving red head ran out of the door, her boots splashing in puddles as she shouted. "Freedom goddamn eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!"

Slowly, the rest of the students came out from the bus as well.

"This pause is to have a snack before we continue! Stay around, and make sure to be back at 11:30!" Kazuko informed, before heading to share a cigarette with the driver.

"Sh-shouldn't we eat with the rest of our team?" Madoka asked, magenta eyes slightly glittering.

"That sounds nice." The rich bimbo agreed, gently nodding.

"Fiiiiiiine." Sayaka rolled her eyes. She still didn't really trust those two.

The pinkette was about to remind her childhood friend how they had saved her life, but was luckily dragged along in due time to stop herself.

"Hm?" Already together, the two magical girls turned around to look at the approaching trio. Kyoko stepped forwards, and Homura remained behind, slightly leaning against a birch tree.

"Sakura-san, Akemi-san." Hitomi greeted, politely bowing her head.

"Yo." The bluenette waved.

"Uhm... Hi!" The shorter girl greeted sheepishly, with a small smile.

The ebony nodded as a greeting.

Kyoko made a grin from ear to ear. "Bubblegum, cotton candy and... chard." She said, waving.

"...I beg your pardon?"

"Excuse me?!"

"H-huh...?"

The three girls showed their astonishment at once, widening their eyes and stepping backwards.

"But cotton candy too long." The red head crossed her arms, now looking away to properly muse. "I'll call ya 'CC'." Grinning, she nodded, looking at them again. "Yeah, 'CC' be good! Bethah dan 'smurf', huh?"

Now, realizing what she meant, Sayaka took an angry step forwards. "Hey!"

"Whatever." Kyoko waved her off. "What did ya three want?"

Expecting an answer, Homura eyed them from the tiny distance, dim curiosity in her inexpressive, lavender eyes.

Hitomi stepped forwards, in due time to stop Sayaka from starting an argument, and rescue Madoka from the awkward situation where she was. "We just wanted to eat with you two, since we are a team. If... You don't mind, of course." She said, as polite as always, ignoring the fact that she had been compared with a vegetable.

"'Kay." The rascal nodded, and then briefly eyed her sister. "Whaddayasay, blackberry?"

Ignoring her new nickname, which she had already heard in other time lines, she just looked away. "It's alright to me." She said plainly.

The red head grinned again. "Come o'er, gals!" She then ran away, Homura following her calmly and slowly.

"W-won't she get lost?" Madoka asked, hurrying to catch up with the raven-haired before walking beside her.

"She won't." She answered. "She hasn't gone too far."

"What's up with Madoka!" The bluenette whispered to the bimbo, as they walked after the other two. "The more this month continues, the more attached she is to the goth transfer student!"

"Perhaps she is not that bad, and you are misjudging her." Hitomi answered. "Though... I must recognize Akemi-San scared me a little, and her sister is a bit too impertinent, but they are our team, after all. Maybe we should just follow Madoka-San's example, and get to know them."

"Hmmm..." Sayaka looked away, frowning slightly. "Maybe."

"Over here, ya slow asses!" Kyoko waved at them, sitting in a small clearing of that tiny, artificial forest, her legs crossed and her back pack placed over them.

"Kyoko, isn't the grass too wet?" Homura asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, and full o' mud! But I am not dat posh! C'mon, let's eat!" She was already searching for her junk food.

"I am not getting dirty, compulsive eater!" Sayaka snapped.

"Perhaps we should... Stay like this?" The greenette asked.

"Whatevah." The red head shrugged, taking a bottle of soda and ten hamburgers.

The ebony sighed, and pulled an anorak from her back pack. She folded it on the ground, and knelt over it, placing her bag in front of her.

"Oh." The non-involved humans looked at each other.

"That was a good idea, Homura-chan." Madoka complimented, doing the same, and kneeling beside her.

"Thanks." The coal-haired opened her back-pack, and two yellow eyes looked up at them from the inside. "Sorry for keeping you there... Amy. No one else must know about you."

"Amy-chan!" The pinkette smiled.

"Amy?" Sayaka blinked twice, in confusion.

"Who- what's Amy?" Hitomi asked.

"Ah, ya brought it." Kyoko commented, eating noisily.

The black she-cat jumped from the back pack, swiftly climbing to Homura's shoulder, and then looking at Madoka and meowing to greet her.

"Good morning, Amy-chan!" The shorter girl stroke it.

"A-a cat?" The bluenette asked, maybe too loudly.

"Akemi-San... you know you can't bring pets to school, do you?" The green-haired asked, trying to seem resolute, but quickly shrank back when those lavender eyes pierced her face.

"We are not in school." She answered, colder than usually. "She wanted to come to the woods, and I saw no problems on that."

"R-right... My pardons..."

"Scary, hu?" Everyone looked at Kyoko, her lips now stained with ketchup. All the hamburgers had mysteriously disappeared, or else, ended up inside the black hole her stomach was.

"Who, the girl or the cat?" The tomboy asked, defiantly.

"Both." The red head answered.

"Really? It might frighten Hitomi, but not me!" And with that, she grabbed the fur ball by her scruff, and looked deeply inside its yes.

"Sayaka-chan?" Madoka asked, as shocked as exasperated.

"Cats are too cute to be scary, and this one is far too small- Ow!" She almost let go of Amy when the cat hissed and scratched her cheek, but didn't do so.

Homura stood up. "Let her go." She commanded. "Now."

"...Or what?"

"...Or I'll get her myself." She threatened.

"Meooow!" Amy snarled, flailing furiously.

"Hu. Try, then." Sayaka grinned, underestimating her skinny opponent.

"Sayaka-San, if I were you, I wouldn't do that..." Hitomi tried to advice.

"Yeah, but you are not me, so-" The heel of a military boot against her toe, strong enough to send pain, but not to cause an injury, and she let go of the cat. "Ow!"

Homura took it, and looked down at the bluenette, who was now rubbing the tip of her foot. "I already warned you." She said, before taking her seat again, Amy meowing in her arms.

Madoka swallowed saliva. "Ugh..."

"My apologies if I was too harsh..." The ebony said, flicking her hair. "..but my answer was as nice as doing that to a cat."

"Harsh?" Sayaka said, as she limped slightly to sit beside the pinkette, not minding the water nor the mud. "It was like a flea bite."

"That's what you get for being mean, Sayaka-chan." Madoka pouted at her, eyeing her foot and the scratch on her cheek.

"Yeah, whatever." The former replied, grabbing her food and starting to eat it.

Madoka did the same, but, chopsticks almost touching her lips, she looked again at Sayaka. "D-does it hurt?"

"Nah, a flea bite, I said." She smiled reassuringly.

Homura ate as well, sharing her food with the tiny stray cat and her pleading-looking sister.

Meanwhile, Hitomi was placing a handkerchief on the ground, but it got completely soaked. "Oh, gosh... That was a bad idea..." She whispered, while picking it up and keeping it with a sigh of exasperation.

The ebony whispered something into the she-cat's twitching ear, and stood up. "Madoka, take care of Amy." She said, and turned to stare at the greenette. "You can take my place, Hitomi Shizuki." And then, as she turned around, her hair swung prettily, underlining her reputation. "I'll be back." Saying that, she walked away.

"Sistah?" Kyoko looked up. "Ya gonna eat dat?" She asked, pointing at the leftovers.

Homura barely stopped, and merely eyed them from the already gained distance. "Share with Amy." She said, before walking away again.

"Meeeow!" The cat tried to follow, but was stopped by small, gentle hands.

"Homura-chan told you to stay here." Madoka whispered softly, picking the small animal up, and placing it in her lap. "Though... I wonder why she's leaving..."

The she-cat accommodated itself in her new place, while trying to reach some of her 'owner''s food before Kyoko made it vanish, just like the missed hamburgers.

"I-is it okay if I take her place?" Hitomi asked, still unconvinced.

"She told ya to." The red head replied, mouth full. "Ya better obey."

"Uh-huh." The greenette did as told, and politely ate her food.

Sayaka hit the ground with a hand. "C'mon! Like if she were some kind of aouthority!" She exclaimed.

"Sayaka-chan... Homura-chan just wanted to be alone, and let Hitomi-chan her place." The pinkette murmured, trying to calm things down. It didn't work.

"Ah, so you know her enough to understand her?" The bluenette snapped. She didn't know why she was suddenly feeling so upset. Maybe she was jealous, plus Kyousuke's situation didn't help at all.

"A-a little..." The shorter girl recognized, looking down, and slightly blushing.

The tomboy let go an exasperated sigh. "Excellent..."

.

The last time she had eaten with so many people, like this, making a circle, had happened so many time lines ago, that an unbearable feeling had bloomed inside her frozen heart. She needed to escape, to be alone for a little while, to recompose herself.

She had been close to Madoka in every time line, and sometimes, they grew to end up as girlfriends before Walpurgisnacht, but she hadn't eaten beside her friends since she wore braids and glasses... And she knew that now, this would bring memories again.

Homura made sure to double-check if she needed grief seeds. She had grown pretty emotionless, with time, but it was horrendous how, casual little details, could still alter her insides.

She somehow needed to punish herself for being a weakling, but she knew better than to hurt herself. It would only bring another mark to her body, that would only serve to concern Madoka, and perhaps worsen the situation. It had happened before.

Besides, it would be a worthless punishment, since she felt no pain.

As a child, she always wished to get rid of that ache in her chest, in her heart, and wished pain didn't exist.

Now, she kind of missed it, since, physical pain was another reminder that someone was alive.

And she was not, but sometimes wished to feel like if she were.

In previous time lines, she had jumped from buildings when her soul gem was darkened enough to mist her mind (and common sense). It had been stupid, of course, and horribly dangerous.

The inky-haired eyed her watch, only to find out she still had fifteen minutes until she would have to come back. She straightened, and then started to breathe deeply to calm down her nerves, and nameless but so recognizable emotions.

A little while later, she heard rustling in the bushes, it approaching quickly, and turned around, swiftly enough to catch the black fur ball that had thrown itself against her.

"A-amy? I told you to stay there." Homura said, unconsciously but lightly hugging the she-cat as it licked her cheek. A whole handful of time lines earlier, she would have giggled at this, but now, she limited herself to close her eyes, until another rustling made her open them again.

"A-amy-chaaan!" A breathless, high-pitched voice, and then the panting pinkette emerged from the bushes.

"It's okay." The paler girl said. "It's here." The cat licked her again, making her close one eye. "Amy... Stop that already..." She murmured, still coldly, but with some kind of an affection towards the small animal.

Still recovering air, the sight was adorable to Madoka, who couldn't help but to smile. In a few seconds, though, her expression changed as she guiltily looked down. "S-sorry, Homura-chan... Amy-chan ran away from me, I was distracted, uh... It- it won't happen again!" She said, trying to show determination to compensate her clumsiness.

The black-haired walked towards her, having the pinkette averting her eyes, but ignoring that, as she always did. Then, she handed the stray cat to her. "I know." She said.

"Meooow.~"

The shorter girl looked up again, and saw Amy in front of her. Magenta eyes peered at Homura in confusion, who merely gestured with her arms, approaching the cat to her.

Finally understanding, the smile resurrected in her face as she took it and hugged it.

The tiny animal meowed again, and licked her cheek as well, earning a giggle from the pinkette.

"Let's head back." Homura said, starting to walk away anew.

"W-wait!" Madoka called, blinking in surprise when the other did as told. Once she caught up, they started to walk again.

"So ya found one- and da othah." Kyoko commented, once she spotted them. "Good job, pinko." She gave them a thumbsup, answered by the pinkette's innocent, sheepish smile and the ebony's permanent stare.

"Let's go back to the bus." Hitomi said, standing up.

"Alreadeh? It soon!" The red head protested.

"Yeah, but people will start coming as well, and we still have to switch our sitting partners." Sayaka pointed out, her voice still a bit harsh, the shadow of a frown in her forehead, but nothing more than that.

"...Hu." The rebel narrowed her eyes to think, carrying a finger to her chin.

"Oh." The greenette said, nodding.

"R-right..." Madoka took her time to try and muse as well.

"Hm..." Homura just looked away.

.

"Why does this happen to me?!" Sayaka yelled, gesturing with her tensed hands.

"Could be worse." The red head guffawed, sitting beside her. "Ya could've been 'lone!"

"I'd rather be alone." The former growled, deliberately looking away, as she crossed her arms and frowned.

"…Or ya could be with mah sistah." Kyoko reminded her, grinning. "C'mon, it ain't da end of da world!" Then, she elbowed her.

The bluenette quickly turned around, slapping the other's arm away, when she found a familiar red box right in front of her eyes.

"Want one?"

Frowning again, the tomboy sighed, but accepted one of the chocolate sticks of pocky, that emerged from the carton like grass. "Thanks." She growled, narrowing her eyes.

"Now, let's continue wha' we started da othah day, shall we?" The red head asked, situating her own treat on its usual place, between her fangs.

"What?" A blue eyebrow lifted.

"What's wrong with ya?" Kyoko asked, breaking her snack in two pieces, and chewing the one inside her mouth. "It ain't hard to see something big disturbeen' ya. Pinko too mouse tho inquire, chard a simple bimbo, and sissy ain't give a damn, but we all recognize yar smiles are faker dan mah dick."

"…You have no dick, though?"

"See? If I had one, it'd be fake, so stop pretendeen' tho be a hapeeh clapeeh when ya ain't, and let me help ya." The other half pocky disappeared inside her mouth as well.

"And why would I trust you?" Sayaka said, looking away again. "You are just a trouble maker."

"Oh, jeez. Can't we at least be friends?" The red head forced a sweeter and gentler voice, obviously teasing, but meaning her words.

"…And why would you want to?" The bluenette's tone was drier now.

"'Cuz yar stupid." Kyoko stated, as naturally as she always spoke. "And 'cuz ya remind me of me in some stuff."

Now, azure eyes showed some hints of curiosity. "Like what?"

"I once was as stupid as ya." After a mocking, yet friendly grinning, she closed her sharp eyes and stretched herself. "Imma take a nap, now." She said. "Ya better answah me when I wake up."

"Hey-!"

"Good night." She cut her off and, as soon as her eyes closed, she began to snore.

"…Great." Sayaka rolled her eyes, crossing her arms once more.

.

"I… Feel bad for Hitomi-chan…" Madoka murmured, magenta eyes looking downwards.

"Why so?" Homura's voice was as stoic as usual.

"Because… It's the second time she has to sit all alone…"

"It's okay." The ebony blinked, staring nowhere. "She said it herself, that she wanted us to… 'Know each other'. Besides,..." Her lavender eyes were averted by the pinkette, as she now looked at her. "…She is not alone. She is with that other girl, and they seem okay together."

"Homura-chan…" Finally, the pinkette looked up at her. "Haven't you learned the names of our classmates, yet?" She asked.

"I haven't." Homura answered plainly. No matter how many times she repeated the month, she wasn't interested in them. They were irrelevant in her life, her routine, her task…

"I-it's easy!" The shorter girl chirped. "I'll- I'll show you!"

One by one, Madoka pointed to their classmates and whispered their names. However, Homura listened with only half an ear, sometimes nodding, sometimes humming, lost in her thoughts and enjoying the other's optimism.

"Thank you." She said, once the pinkette finished.

"N-no problem… Will you remember them?" The latter asked.

"…I can't guarantee." The raven-haired replied, her gaze lost again.

"Oh…"

An uncomfortable silence caused Madoka to frown. She had had enough with her human friends, and now that she finally was alone with Homura, she wanted to talk, but… About what?

"U-uhm…" She slightly jumped when the mere sound of her voice brought purple irises again to look at her. "T-that…" She looked around, trying to think, when something returned to her mind. Something as pleasant as enigmatic.

"Mhm?" The ebony encouraged her, merely blinking.

"Th-that song… How… Is it called?" She finally dared to ask.

"Hm?" The other's black eyebrow lifted slightly.

"Y-you know, uh…" She blushed a little. "The… Thesongoftonight?" She let out, her eyes shut.

"Uh." Homura quickly turned around and coughed, covering her mouth with a pale, slender fist, trying to hide her face, it completely red now. Had Madoka _truly_ heard _her singing_? It hadn't been supposed to happen. Her hum was supposed to lull her, and once the girl was soundly and calmly asleep, it turned into lyrics, meant to keep her like that. Maybe she had underestimated the pinkette's sleeping ear.

The former blinked, looking at her with surprise in her eyes, but once she noticed the red in the other's ears, a soft, tiny yet uncontrollable giggle escaped her mouth.

The ebony stood still, silent, motionless. She knew better than to cover her face with her hands, though, she was ashamed of her own reflex in the crystal window, and so, of herself.

Seconds passed, and nothing happened. Madoka turned around in defeat, when the other's voice called her attention again.

"S-Scarborough fair." The raven-haired said, her expression plain again, but her cheeks still reminded of Madoka's hair color.

"Wh-what?" It caught the shorter girl by surprise.

"It's…" She blinked, swallowing saliva. "It's called Scarborough Fair." She said, her voice completely recomposed, now.

"Oh, uhm, it's-" Madoka smiled sheepishly. "Can you sing it again?"

Homura closed her eyes, fighting her blush again, and luckily succeeding, since she hadn't been caught off guard this time. "Later." She said.

"Okay." The pinkette was fully smiling now, satisfied.

After a nod, the former lightly stroke her back pack, knowing Amy would be curled up inside. It made the shorter girl smile even more, and she reached her small hand to pet the cat as well, under that tight fabric.

"Meeeow." It was muffled, but audible.

"Shhh, Amy. You have to be silent." Homura whispered.

A silence in response. That was good.

Madoka inhaled air, as if it were going to give her strength, or at least, the boldness she needed, right now. "May I ask you something, Homura-chan?"

"Sure." Was the expected reply from the latter.

"Uhm…" As usual, she looked downwards, finding reasons to justify herself for what she was going to ask. "Y-you know, uh… F-friends… Know… Know some things, a-about… Each other. Uh…" She shook her head. She was doing nothing wrong, after all. She just wanted to know more about the girl she felt so attached to, who knew why. "L-like… What… Is your favorite color?"

The thinner, much paler girl looked at the other, her eyes reflecting nothing. Did that even matter? Yes… It did matter, at least, to people like Madoka, so… It wouldn't be that bad to reply, right?

"Purple, and… black." She answered, never mentioning pink, since its meaning to her was more emotional, based on memories, feelings… Her love towards the other, who was completely unaware of that, fortunately.

"It… Makes sense." Madoka nodded, her index finger against her chin.

"Yours is… Pink?" Homura asked. She knew almost everything about the shorter girl sitting beside her, but it was the right thing to do, to keep her secrets hidden.

"How did you know?" The pinkette asked widening her glittering eyes, before relaxing and blushing a little. "I-it's kind of evident, h-huh…?" She giggled innocently.

"…Hm." It had been too long since the last idle conversation, and she had already forgotten how to be spontaneous at it. She would have let Madoka take the lead, but…

"Attention, students. We are almost there. Remember to keep your belts tied and not to stand up until we arrive."

"Oh." The shorter girl blinked, and then looked up at Homura. "C-can we continue this later?"

"Continue what?" Homura asked, with another blink.

"Th-this…" She couldn't believe it. She had finally asked the other one of those questions that had been occupying her mind, as if both of them were just school girls, with a human life. After all, the ebony had been a human once. How much, then, did the contract separate you from your roots?

"T-this conversation." She finally said. If she had dared to do so once, and nothing bad had happened, why shouldn't she dare to do so twice?

Beneath Homura's deep stare, she made herself smaller, blushing a little, now talking bashfully. "I-I mean… is it okay?"

"…Alright." The taller girl's reply was as plain as usual, but it was enough to make Madoka brighten again and recover her full size, which, after all, was not much.

"Really?" She asked, as the bus found a place to stop and they untied their belts. That was good. After all, they were friends, so, why wasn't it going to be okay? Madoka couldn't exactly tell why, but joy was filling her insides, making her forget, for a moment, abut the new, cruel world where she had been implicated. She gave the former little time to nod in reply before grabbing her pale hand and excitedly dragging her towards the gates of the bus.

Once outside, the pinkette just realized what she had done, and finally let go. "U-uhm… S-sorry." She murmured, a similar color to that of her ribbons now staining her cheeks.

"It's… fine." The ravenette replied, looking away to hide her own blush, which was much slighter, but a stone against the roof of her reputation.

The petite-looking teenager couldn't help but to smile again, and then, she waved to the other members of their team, as they came out from the bus. She ran towards Sayaka and Hitomi, and the three led the way towards the crowd of students.

Meanwhile, Kyoko approached her sister, and both girls started to follow as well.

"Wha' happen'd dere inside?" The red head asked, noticing how absent her sibling seemed.

"I have no idea." Homura replied, taking her time to recall, for a last time, that warmth in her hand.

Whatever Kyoko said next, she didn't hear it.

.

The teacher had placed every single group in different parts of the forest, and then, left towards the 'base', quickly enough so no one would cheat and follow her.

Homura had, again, fred Amy from her back pack, and the black she-cat was anew over her shoulder.

"What now?" Sayaka asked dryly. "We throw a stick to the air and follow the direction it points?"

"We have a bethah idea!" Kyoko stated, waving her hand. When Homura and her earned everyone's stares, the red head ran towards a tree, and started to climb it.

"Ah, no." The bluenette grabbed her by her leg. "Whatever you wanted to do, it's dangerous."

First, the red head glared at her, but then her expression turned into a smirk. "Aaah, so ya care 'bout meh 'fter all, hu?"

The tomboy frowned. "Well, if we wanna get a good result, we have to work in teams."

"'Kaaaay." Kyoko finally jumped down, and noticed how relieved Madoka and Hitomi looked. "But if we find no bethah solutions, there'll be a blackberreh and an apple on da branches."

"…Deal." Sayaka answered, sighing in exasperation.

"If there is no other choice…" Hitomi sighed too.

"Well, now what?" The red head asked.

"Let's, uhm…" Sayaka looked around. "Madoka! Tell us where to go!"

"H-huh?" The pinkette widened her magenta eyes. "Wh-why me?"

"'Cause you haven't spoken yet?" The bluenette grinned.

"U-uh, fine…" She looked for reassurance in Homura's eyes, and the ebony gave a slight, encouraging nod, making the tomboy frown in jealousy and mistrust.

"Hurreh up." Kyoko said, impatiently.

"U-uhm… O-over there?" Madoka pointed at somewhere random.

"Alright." Hitomi said.

"We had to start somewhere." Sayaka stated, shrugging.

The first root in the ground was enough to make the clumsy, distracted pinkette stumble, and as expected, Homura gripped her hoodie in due time.

"Watch your steps." She said coldly, the she-cat meowing in apparent agreement.

"U-uh… Thanks..." She smiled sheepishly, and continued to walk.

Their shoes were full of mud, and sometimes, they had enough bad luck to be sunk knee-deep on it.

At Hitomi's third grimace, Sayaka felt the urge to comment. "Hitomi." She said, her voice tinted with amusement. "They told us to wear sport clothes, they never mentioned silk dresses!"

"My wardrobe is not like yours." The greenette made the politest of the pouts, and the tomboy reached for her hand to help her through the muddy path.

"Poor Hitomi-chan…" Madoka commented, innocently. "I didn't know being rich was so bad…"

"It ain't dat bad." Kyoko said. "If I had more money, I'd buy food for da rest of mah life, and confy, cool clothes, instead of bimbo-like fabrics."

But how long was her life going to last? The pinkette wondered, and felt that weight again over her shoulders, and that lump on her throat.

"Madoka, are you okay?" Homura asked, staring deeply from upon. "You keep worrying… And I told you not to."

"Y-yeah, but…" She looked down. "You know…"

"We shouldn't talk about that here." She heard her voice, but the taller girl was facing forwards again, her lips not moving one bit. "If you need to, let's use telepathy, but we should leave this for another moment. Your corporal language speaks for you."

"Ah…" The pinkette shrank, blushing at her own expressiveness. She then felt the ebony's hand in her shoulder, and smiled a little.

"What now?!" Sayaka exclaimed, standing in front of a river.

"Oh, gosh…" Hitomi lamented, stepping backwards, since she had been walking beside the bluenette.

"Wha' do ya mean by wha' now?" Kyoko asked, catching up. "Now we cross!"

"There are some stones we could walk on." Homura added. "With the proper balance and care, everything will be fine."

"I don't want my cachemire to get wet!" The greenete stepped backwards again.

"I-it's okay, Hitomi-chan! We… We'll search for a bridge!" She looked around at the others. "Right…?"

"The teacher said this forest hasn't been altered by humanity, which means, nothing has been built." The coal-haired crouched down to grab a long branch, and check how deep the river was, since the storm had made it grow.

"Who needs bridges, gals?" The red head asked, her hands on the back of her head. "Seriously, citizens…"

"Well, I don't!" Sayaka exclaimed, lifting her fist a little. "I have always been good at sports!"

Kyoko grinned. "Good for ya."

"B-but…" Madoka looked down, and Hitomi did the same.

"Don't worry! I'll help ya girls!" Sayaka dedicated them a smirk.

"Thank you, Sayaka-chan…" The pinkette smiled.

"Thank you, Sayaka-san, but I am not fully convinced." The bimbo complained.

"Hitomi Shizuki." Homura's voice made the former freeze. "Do you want to get a good score on that school work?"

"Y-yes, but…-"

"Then, you'll have to do it, just like all of us." Without waiting for an answer, she put a feet on a stone, and started to cross, permanently confident, still using the branch to check how deep the river was, or if there was some unsteady or moving rock. Amy held on to her shoulder with unsheathed claws as afraid as the bimbo to touch the water.

"Ladies first." Kyoko dedicated them a grin, as she gestured with her arms.

"Whatever, compulsive eater." Sayaka led the way, following Homura's steps.

"Careful." The ebony warned from a certain distance. "If you slip or step over a moving stone, you'll fall onto a knee-deep current."

"Yeah, yeah." The former exaggeratedly nodded, repressing a not amused 'whatever'.

"W-wait, Sayaka-chan!" The pinkette clumsily hurried to follow, and if the tomboy hadn't been quick enough to grab her by her wrist, she would be already soaked. "S-sorry!"

"It's okay." Sayaka winked. "Let's go, alright?" When Madoka nodded, she added. "C'mon, Hitomi!"

"Nnng…" Slowly, the greenete started to follow, and after a small while, a Kyoko with a mouth full of orchids walked behind them.

Everything was okay for a little while, but then the bimbo slipped. Yelling things about her new clothes, she grabbed the shorter girl to recover the balance. It was a bad idea, and they both fell. The bluenette tried to hold them both, but her feet caught a moving stone, and then, the three of them fell with a loud splash, that caused Amy to jump, and her fur to bristle.

"What-?" Homura turned around, only to find the small pack in the water, their limbs tangled, and Kyoko chuckling behind, crumbs of orchids escaping her mouth.

"My clothes…" Hitomi whined.

"I think I have a stone against my sternum." Sayaka groaned, wincing.

"S-sorry, Sayaka-chan. It's- my e-elbow…" The pinkette moved her arm to rub her shoulder, which had collided against Hitomi's jaw.

With a sigh, the ebony walked towards them. "Are you girls okay?" She asked, deeply staring at them as she slightly tilted her head. She had the sun behind her, and for some reason the darkness in her figure made her look gentler, though, even more mysterious as well. Madoka found herself hypnotized by that vision.

"Why didn't you help us?!" The bluenette shouted at Kyoko, who was still laughing out loud and spitting chewed petals.

"B-b-usy-busy h-han's!" She spoke as she cackled, showing her the non-eaten flowers she held.

"My clothes!" The greenete repeated, louder, this time.

"We've already heard you." Homura said, calm and cold as she always was, offering Madoka a hand for her to stand up. That pulled the pinkette out of her zoning out, who immediately apologized and thanked the former, accepting her hand and helping Sayaka with the other.

The red-haired chewing girl grabbed Hitomi by her dress, and pulled her up as easily as if she were lifting a book. "Urwelcome." She said, before continuing to walk.

"I could stand up by myself, you peasant." She pouted, crossing her arms and looking away, but as soon as she started to walk, she slipped again, and this time, no one helped her up.

"Hey, why are you eating those, anyways?" The tomboy asked, catching up with Kyoko.

"Taste good." She answered, shrugging. "Want some?"

"Uh… No, thanks."

"'Kay." A last shrug, and they kept walking.

.

Spring was nice, warm, yet refreshing, or at least it was when you weren't completely wet. The previously soft breeze, now felt chilly against the wet skin and damp clothes.

After pointlessly walking for a long while, Homura sighed and quickened her steps, soon disappearing in the greenery, Amy following closely behind.

"W-wait!" The shaky Madoka called, and attempted to follow, when a hand, maybe a little brute, grabbed her arm, causing her to squeak slightly, and turn around in daze.

"Let ha'." Kyoko said, the scent of the flowers still in her breath. "She knows wha' she do's." She turned around to double-check where the others were, and as soon as she saw they were about to reach them, she looked again at the tiny teenager she was still grabbing. "Besideh', we'll soon reach ha'."

"Damn." The bluenette announced herself, as she stopped near them. "Those clothes will never get dry.

"If ya weren't so clumseh…" The red head shrugged, shaking her head as she finally let go from the pinkette.

"What did you say?!" The former snapped in a sudden jolt. "Let's see who's clumsier here!" She ran to catch Kyoko, who immediately dodged her and chuckled.

"Slow ass."

Growling, Sayaka tried again, and they ended up running in circles around a now very startled Madoka.

"Wait until I catch you!"

"Onleh if ya loose a few kg!"

"Wha?! Well, who is the one who eats non-stop?!" She couldn't tell why, but instead of rage, the tomboy was beginning to feel some kind of amusement inside her, and see that pursuit as a game.

"Well, I nevah fatten!" The red head pointed out, still running.

"That's true! How do you do it?! Well, never mind! I'm gonna catch you anyways!"

"Stop!" Hitomi yelled, shaking her head. "You are shameful! You will fall and fill with mud too! Your poor clothes have no salvation…"

They didn't obey, and instead, Kyoko felt the need to answer. "Hey, chard, why don't ya join?!" And suddenly she headed against the greenette, followed by Sayaka.

"Nooooooooo!" When the bimbo screamed, every single bird flew away, and she started to run away from the two predator-like girls behind her.

"Uh…" With slow steps, Madoka tried to remain unnoticed as she left, following the direction she thought Homura had taken. Soon enough, she found herself in a small clearing, and saw the ebony near some trees, kneeling over her folded anorak, and blowing at some wood and leaves. Amy was there too, playing with a flying beetle.

"Homura-chan?" She carefully approached, crouching down beside her friend. "What are you doing?"

"It's… worthless." The raven-haired sighed and stretched her spine. "I'll have to do something else."

"Oh?" The pinkette looked down at the pile, and saw a bit of black in the bark. "Ah, y-you were trying to make-"

"Stay away." The other cut off, with a small box on her hand.

"H-huh?" Though she wondered, she did as told, yet watched as much as possible.

Homura opened the box, and left a few tiny crumbs of a dust as black as her hair on the pile. Then, she used a match box, and watched for a moment the tiny, dancing flame on the tip.

"Homura-chan, what-?" She was cut off again, this time, by a tiny explosion that caused the she-cat to meow in fear, bristle her mane, jump and hide behind her owner, and the smoke that came from it made her cough and itched on her eyes. The wood was now on fire.

"I told you to stay away." The ebony said bitterly, as she helped the pinkette up and guided her some steps away from the burning branches.

"S-sorry…" She murmured, still coughing a little and rubbing her watery eyes.

"It's okay." The raven-haired sighed. "I didn't use much gunpowder, so the effect will be gone soon. Don't rub your eyes."

"G-gunpowder?!" Madoka asked, now widening her eyes and blinking, as small tears were shed, cleaning them from the dust of the explosion.

"Yes, gunpowder, I said." Homura replied, as if it was something anyone used every day. Though, thinking about it twice, she _did_ use it every day. "Now sit by the fire before you catch a cold, or something." She looked away. "I wonder where the others are."

The shorter girl saw her whispering something under her breath, like 'why are humans so delicate', but wasn't sure, and decided not to inquire. Instead, she just obeyed. "It's… warm." She whispered with a smile, once she had settled over her own folded anorak.

"It's fire." The paler one stated, shrugging, and taking her place again, at the other side, followed by a more calmed Amy now.

Unconsciously, the former pouted. She wanted to sit closer to her friend, but once she had been given a questioning, purple stare, and realized which her expression was, she blushed, shaking her head and looking downwards, feeling her cheeks abnormally hot.

Just in time, Kyoko emerged at a very high speed from the bushes, a dead wild pig on her arms. "I GOT DINNAH!" She kept yelling as she approached, almost stumbling and falling over the fire. Luckily, she recovered the balance in due time.

"Kyoko!" Sayaka's voice was heard closely behind, as she emerged as well, all covered in mud and leaves, dragging a very similar-looking Hitomi, whose eyes glittered with unshed tears.

"My cloteeeeesss…." She wailed, maybe for the tenth time in a single minute.

"We already heard you…" The tomboy snarled.

"Meow?" The she-cat padded closer to the red head, and head butted her.

"Hi, food robah." She replied with a sly grin.

"Sister, what happened?" Homura asked, looking sternly up at her, as Madoka ran to her two human friends with worry in her face.

"So dis fatty attack'd us." She started to explain, leaving her prey on the ground with a loud thud. "And den chard screams and bluey steps in frontah her sayin' 'I'll protect ya' and chard be liek 'oh mer god', and I say 'bullshit' and grab eet by eet's fangs and throw eet away, and dey be liek 'WTF' and I say 'I'm suphah strong' and dey look at me liek 'and wut?', and I say 'he comes back to chase us, ya stay here as a bait and I attack, and dey say 'no way!' and I say 'too late' and disappear, and da pig runs to dem screamin', and dey yell 'nuuuuuuuuuuuu!' and cotton candeh throws dem both tho da ground and dey roll onto a random puddle as I appear from behind before dey get murdarah by da pig, and kick it as I say 'kick da babeh', and da pig rolls too, and we fight and I rip it's heart off and eat it and here we are."

"C-come sit by the fire, Sayaka-chan, Hitomi-chan." The pinkette took their hands and led them there, but the bluenette stopped to a halt and glared at Homura, who was scolding her sibling for putting two humans in danger.

"Why does it smell like fireworks?!" She exclaimed, interrupting the two magical girls.

"I used gunpowder, since the wood was wet." The ebony answered, merely shrugging.

"Aha!" The former pointed at her. "See how I wasn't wrong?! She is goddamn dangerous! Stay away from her, Mado-" Her shorter friend's widened eyes shocked her more than expected. "…ka…" She finished, now with an unsteady voice.

"Wh-what are you saying, Sayaka-chan…? Homura-chan is not a bad person!" Madoka exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Hm." Said the paler girl, flicking her obsidian-colored hair, as she deliberately turned around from them. "Think whatever you want, you two… You might get surprises soon."

"Uh…huh?" Sayaka blinked. The former hadn't agreed, yet neither disagreed with her. And yet, the pinkette was still determined.

"You are not a bad person, Homura-chan!"

Homura noticed small tears starting to be born in the girl's eyes, and could already picture what was running through her mind. She sighed, deciding not to argue. "Whatever." And sat by the fire again.

"Hey, shan't we eat?!" Kyoko exclaimed, the she-cat beside her agreeing with a hungry meow.

"If you are thinking about eating what you hunted, you'd better cook it first." The ebony said, now not even looking at her.

Meanwhile, Madoka led her friends towards the fire, and took that as a chance to sit between Sayaka and Homura, Hitomi trying to remain as polite as she always was, even though her pride –her clothes- were already ruined. Amy decided to curl up in her owner's lap, and wait.

After stabbing the corpse with a stick, the red head plopped down between her sister and the greenete, the circle around the fire now complete, and dropped her pray on the flames. "Say, bluey: head, ribs, legs or tail?" She asked, rubbing her hands together.

"…Why me?" Sayaka blinked, unconsciously crawling backwards a little.

"'Cuz I say so." Kyoko replied. "Now choose."

"…Leg?" She tilted her head.

"Cotton candy has spoken!" The rebel yelled, raising her arms, as the three humans gasped in surprise. "Leg it'll be, den." She dedicated the tomboy a scarlet wink and proceeded to rip a leg off with her hands.

"Kyoko-chan?!" Madoka exclaimed, covering her mouth.

"You will get burnt!" The bimbo added, even louder.

"Nah, it ain't made." The red-haired girl said, handing the peace of meat to the bluenette, and dodging the she-cat's grabby paws.

"Ouch! Hot!" Sayaka immediately let go if it, blowing at her hands.

"C'mon, it ain't dat bad." The former said, clicking her tongue as she reached for the latter's hands, and Madoka could see a glimpse of crimson in her ring before she let go. "I see notheen'."

"Ah…?" The tomboy looked at her palms, blinking in confusion. "Ah… You are right. It was just a surprise, I guess."

"Geez, how sensitive." Kyoko shook her head, before eyeing her again. "By da way, ya eat what ya dropped or I'll kill ya." She scolded. Then, she turned to Homura. "I'll give ya da ribs, sissy."

The only answer she gave was a mere shrug.

"…As I expected." Then, she just rip them off with her hands, and threw them against the ebony, who grabbed them immediately.

"Aren't they too big?" She asked.

"Den, share'em with princess bubblegum… And yar angry pet." The red head answered, with her usual wicked, fanged grin.

A small silence, before she stared at the shorter girl. "Do you mind?" She asked, offering half her food stoically, the heat softened with magic.

"U-uh… No, I don't." She murmured, smiling sheepishly as she blushed lightly.

Once they shared the meat, Homura glared at her sister with narrowed eyes, as Amy proceeded to devour her part. "You did it on purpose." She said, using telepathy.

"Ur' welcome." She replied, maybe too loud, winking at her.

"I knew it!" Hitomi gasped, covering her mouth with one hand, using the other to point at the ebony and the pinkette. "Forbidden love!" Her jump was such that her already spoiled dress caught fire. She only noticed when Amy dropped her food, snarling and running away, arched back and bristled fur; Madoka shouted her name; and Sayaka pointed at the flame, Kyoko already cackling; and Homura standing up to do something. She screamed and ran in circles, as she felt the heat near her skin, and her fabric consuming.

"Homura-chan!" The shorter girl yelled, desperately looking for the raven-haired girl, who she had laid hope on, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Sh-she is gone!" She covered her eyes.

"Water!" Sayaka screamed, whirling around to search for some, and she almost met the ground when the red head's hand grasped her ankle.

"Dere be no wathah here." She just stated.

"But Hitomi-" She was cut off by a high-pitched squeak, and turned around to see her completely soaked again, and the coal-haired, thin girl holding an empty bucket in front of her.

"Hitomi fine." Kyoko said, eating again.

"My cloooooooooooooooooooooooooothes…!" She screeched, this time losing all her remaining composure.

Ignoring everyone, Homura dropped the bucket, and walked away.

"H-Hitomi-chan!" Madoka almost dropped the bimbo, tackling her with a hug.

"Stop it, peasant! You already have a forbidden romance!" She blurted out, flailing for her to let go.

"Wh-what…?" The former blinked with widened eyes. Then, she remembered what the greenette had exclaimed before she caught fire, and blushed in a deep red. "Th-that's not true! I-…" Remembering her strange feelings of attraction, she tried to make herself smaller, and looked downwards. "…I…" She murmured, this time, in a mere whisper.

"Go search fo'her, ya dumbass." Kyoko said, licking her fingers. All the food was gone, even the parts that didn't belong to her. "I'll take care of da othah gurls."

Without even thinking, the pinkette shook her head. "I-I'll be back!" And then, disappeared in the greenery, running.

"Pffffffffffffft… What 's wrong with her?" Sayaka asked, shaking her head.

"Dun't worreh, bluey." The red head dropped her arm over the tomboy's shoulders. "Ya ain't ganna be replaced as a bff. Wha' happens to dose two is deepah."

The former completely stiffened. "You mean- No, it can't be!"

"It will." A fanged grin, teeth dirty with meat.

"Forbidden love!"

.

"Ah, there you were." She whispered, and crouched down to pick up the stray cat, who had finally calmed down after running away. "Try not to disappear too much, nor to go to dangerous places, Amy." And after connecting their stares, with a sigh, the ravenette hugged the tiny animal.

"Homura-chaaaan!" She heard that familiar voice calling for her, and was hard for her to resist the urge to run towards it. Instead, she just walked apathetically, and Amy took that opportunity to escape from the arms embracing her, and climb onto her owner's slender, yet strong shoulder.

"There you were!" Exclaimed the pinkette, her face unconsciously brightening. "I was worried you or Amy-chan would get lost!"

"And why were we?" Was the answer she received from the ebony.

"U-uhm…" Blushing, she looked down. "I'm s-sorry."

"Don't." Said ebony almost snapped, yet managed to control her voice, and reduce it to almost a whisper, loud enough for Madoka to hear her, and stare back at her with a shy, questioning look. "You're kind." She added, almost without thinking it twice.

"H-huh?" Inmediately, the red on her cheeks deepened, and she stood there, paralyzed, even when the taller girl was already walking away.

"Come, let's head back."

"A-ah?" Snapping out from her surprise, she shook her head and immediately turned around to run and catch up. "Y-yes, wait for me!"

.

"Ya wanna finish dat with no trouble, hu?" Kyoko asked, looking at the human girls like a predator. "Well den, can ya leave dat to us now?"

They looked at each other, and the blue-haired one finally answered. "Fiiine. As long as this ends…"

"Dun't doubt it!" The red head grinned. "Gonna come, sissy?"

"We'll be right back." A last purple glance, before she turned around, and they both began to climb a tree.

"What the fuck?!" Sayaka exclaimed, following them with their eyes. "Get back down here!"

"Nope~!"

"Homura-chan, Kyoko-chan… It's dangerous!" Madoka begged, taking a hold of Amy before it could follow them.

"Den ya'll be safah down here!" The fact that her voice was slowly getting lost in the distance showed how fast they were climbing.

"Leave them be…" Hitomi sighed. "They won't listen."

Up in the tree's top, all the forest could be perfectly seen. It was wide, and their travel down there had been stupid enough to situate them further from the teacher's base, aka, that annoying and blinking red light in the middle of a clearing.

Without saying a word, the two magical girls took out folded pieces of paper and wasted pencils from their pockets, and then, with the help of a compass and the time-controlling magic, wrote a few signals in runes to orientate themselves. That would be enough.

"Look!" The bimbo pointed where she could see a glimpse of scarlett.

At a certain height, Kyoko jumped off, and landed right in front of the girls, causing them to squeak. "Wassup?" She asked.

"That was dangerous!" Sayaka scolded.

The red-haired teen stuck her tongue out. "I told ya ya'd better stay here den, idiot."

Before an argument could begin, Madoka intervened. "Where is Homura-chan?" She asked, with a glimpse of worry.

"Right here." The cold, familiar voice answered.

The pinkette immediately turned around and gasped, automatically stepping backwards, and Amy jumped in the other's arms.

Kyoko chuckled, and began to walk. "Come."

"How can we trust you?" Sayaka asked, this time with more curiosity than mistrust.

"Dat, or ya get lost."

Homura flicked her hair and walked beside her sister. They both led the way, and the other three followed.

.

When they finally reached the base, the teacher was already talking with someone to pick the others up with a helicopter and bring them. It took two more hours for everyone to be back, and there wasn't a single student without dirty clothes and scratched skins, some of them wet, others hungry.

The travel back to Mitakihara was rather calm. Madoka and Sayaka sat together, sharing their usual idle chatting. Kyoko fell asleep on Homura's shoulder, snoring in her ear, but she had learned to resist that and more. Hitomi, this time, had called her personal butler to carry her back home with a limousine.

After eating, they all met in Madoka's home, and her parents finally had the chance to meet the mysterious transfer students.

Homura was as stoic and polite as usual, making them consider her a good influence, yet Junko detected again that distance and shyness in her, but preferred not to comment a thing.

Kyoko was polite too, under the threat that she wouldn't eat junk food again if she did the opposite. Tomoisha was happy with her, since she enjoyed all his food, even the leftovers.

They were tired enough not to argue as they worked, so their dossier came out sooner than expected. They wrote what the teacher would like to read, using the classical hypocrisy to content her.

Junko, as usual, invited Madoka's friends to spend the night in her house, and as usual, they declined. Sayaka promised to come as soon as they had more time.

As the two humans went home, the two magical girls went to fulfill their duty, as they did every night.

.

Madoka was happy when she went to bed. The day had been different, and that had given her a break from reality, and gave her time to forget all the painful truths she knew. She was also disappointed, though, because she hadn't had the time to talk with Homura, as she had wished to. She tried to stay awake and wait for her, but before all the negative thoughts assaulted her, her eyes closed, and due to the tiredness of the day, she fell asleep, almost inmediately.

.

The day had made them closer, she knew it. Not only Madoka and her, she also knew Sayaka was beginning to accept her sister, and she knew what that would lead to. Maybe that was good, maybe Kyoko would manage to save Sayaka in this time line, since Madoka and her couldn't, she knew it. She had experienced that before. Maybe, Mami's death didn't mean it was lost, as she feared. She was worried though, that if the pinkette got closer to her it would bring her danger, but there was no way backwards, she knew that. As long as she stood away from the contract, everything would be okay... Right?

"Sistah!" The sound of a spear snapped her out of her thoughts, and she saw the dead familiar in front of her. Right, she was in a fight, she couldn't get distracted. She was a veteran, after all.

"My bad." Homura answered, as she began to shoot again.

"I know!" Kyoko answered, moving to face her next target.

It wasn't hard to kill the witch, and it died with a last screech.

"I'm leaving." Homura panted, as she began to walk away. "You keep the grief seed. I'll rejoin you later."

"'Kay?" Kyoko shrugged, taking the prize and going to search for another prey.

.

She knew she owed Madoka a chat, but she wasn't surprised when she found her soundly asleep. Such a tender vision, she thought. It took her all her willpower not to reach for her hair and stroke it. She was not in that time line anymore, where they had become, maybe more than friends. She didn't want to remember how the pinkette had died, so she tried to occupy her mind with something else.

The ravenette turned around to find that pink notebook. She opened it to see again those cute little doodles, and watched them carefully, one by one, getting lost in them. When she thought she had reached the last page, she found a new, recent drawing.

There were the classical trees, with a brown trunk and green leaves. In the middle of a clearing, Kyoko eating and Sayaka teasing, Hitomi with a sweet smile and Madoka enjoying the bliss. And there, between the shorter girl and the redhead, there was her, with a black cat in her lap and her usual poker face.

The picture was tender, as if drawn by a dreaming child.

She remembered she once had dreamed something like that could be possible. Once, so long ago.

Madoka was smiling in her sleep, mumbling things with her sweet voice. The ebony eyed her and sighed. She wasn't needed here, at that moment.

Calmly, she left the notebook where she had found it, opened by that optimistic page, and left, like a shadow, to continue with her mission.

That drawing would never be real, but if she could accomplish something close to it, it would be more than a miracle.


	11. Day 11

"I have a hunch." She had told her. "Go and keep an eye on them. We'll meet at lunch time."

And every time she remembered that, Kyoko clicked her tongue. She wanted to skip school and take her sister's place, but she knew Homura had more experience in chasing him, and handling his tricks.

And she also knew that, if she didn't oblige, Homura would hide all her food so she'd be limited to eat three times a day, and vegetables only.

With her hands on the back of her head, she walked, her school bag hanging on her shoulder, and a pocky emerging from her mouth.

She was calm, but she managed to enter before the first bell rang.

.

Madoka looked at that empty desk with worry in her magenta eyes. The day before had been tiresome, but it had allowed her to forget, for some hours, about contracts and witches. It had almost made her believe that everything had just been a dream, and that she had a usual life, and human friends with ordinary lives of their own, too.

She hadn't had the chance to meet Homura at night, and talk with her, but she hadn't been able to repress a wide smile when, that very morning, she saw her notebook opened at the page where her new drawing was. Her raven-haired friend had been there, with her, and she had seen it.

But now that she thought she'd finally be able to speak with her, the ebony didn't appear, and that was not only disappointing but also worrying. Had anything happened to her?

Just when the third bell rang, and a millisecond before she could hear the teacher's footsteps in the corridor, a paper ball hit her. She took it, and suddenly, her eyes connected with Kyoko's sharp, crimson stare, and she saw the red head nodding at her.

Immediately, she unfolded the item, and saw the written message inside. It was a messy handwriting, with a pitiful grammar, but after some effort and a while of musing, she understood the two only words there were: 'Everytheen oky'.

She gave Kyoko a relieved smile, and then, the teacher closed the door after coming in.

Instead of the beautiful, disturbed girl in elegant clothes, red glasses and with an extremely high-pitched voice, who entered the class was a plump man in an expensive smoking, whose beard was perfectly shaved and the scent of his perfume filled the whole room.

"Good morning to you all." He said. "I am here to replace your teacher, who was reported by some of your families. I'll be the one giving you classes until the trial takes place. Then, it depends on the results if I'll continue or she'll come back." His voice was sharp and low-pitched, but carefully modulated by his owner.

"Sensei…" Nakazawa asked, raising his hand. "When will the trial take place?"

"Next week." He answered. "Now, I'll introduce myself. I am Masahiro Tokita. A pleasure to meet you all." And as he spoke, he proceeded to write his name on the white board.

.

That new magical essence, she knew it very well. She didn't even need to double-check it to know Kyubey was back. But she wouldn't let him trick Madoka, not again. No matter what it took, this time, she'd do it right.

Homura followed it as if she were following life itself. It moved fast, but she moved faster. With Amy in her shoulder, she jumped on the roofs, following that white dot in her mind that seemed willing to be found by her.

She didn't care.

And after two hours of racing, she ambushed him, grabbing him by his tail.

"I don't think that's the proper way to greet an old friend, Homura Akemi. What's with those poor manners?"

The way he spoke, with those emotionless eyes, that stupid grin and that high-pitched, telepathic voice, made Homura sick to the stomach and immediately want to slaughter him, and she could bet, by the way it hissed and its black fur bristled, that her cat felt exactly the same.

"Incubator. So you finally died." She said instead, with that stoic voice of hers.

"Indeed, and in due time, if you allow me to express my opinion." He instantly replied, without even seeming to take the time to think of a proper answer. "I detect great potentials in this city." And at Homura's frown, he added. "Could you please put me down, so we can talk calmly?"

The ebony closed her eyes. "Fine." Doing as told, she tossed him against the ground and trapped his tail down her pointy heel.

"You really are an aggressive girl, Homura Akemi. Abusing a little creature without any mercy, that's cruel." He mocked, looking up at her and flapping his ears.

"You have no moral authority, Incubator." She replied, flicking her hair. "I am still diplomatic, though. I'll let you speak before I get rid of you, for another week and a half."

"That's right what I wanted to talk about." He licked his snowy, white paw, as he spoke. "I am not going to threaten you, but to give you a single warning: You see, I've been able to contact with the rest of my species. If you ever kidnap me or lock me again, more of us will come and do my job, so our energy reserve will be filled as soon as possible, with no more delays."

Involuntarily, as she heard those words, Homura clenched her fists. She knew that, from now on, she'd have to do as she did in the previous time lines, and chase him as she fought witches. She didn't need to hear any more from him.

"Is that all?" She asked him.

"Unless you have any questions, it is." He replied.

"Alright." The ravenette turned her head to face Amy. "He's all yours, now."

When the cat jumped off her shoulder, she looked away. She didn't need to see what was happening, the sounds already let her picture it. It was only when Kyubey's body was all reduced to small pieces that both, magical girl and stray cat, left the alley.

Maybe it had been a mistake, now she'd have to find him again. But she'd have to do the same if she hadn't killed him, anyways.

Sadly, the satisfaction killing an Incubator gave was little and lasted for short.

She'd now do something useful and kill some witches.

.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Sayaka asked, when she saw Madoka turning the opposite way.

"Ah, I… Just wanted to find something out. I'll- join you later, okay?" The pinkette replied, with an apologetic smile.

"It's fine, Madoka-san." Hitomi replied, completely recovered from yesterday, and giving her friend a reassuring smile. "Let us go, Sayaka-san."

"Okay. Later, Madoka."

"See you later, Sayaka-chan, Hitomi-chan." The latter smiled, and turned around to continue her little task.

The bluenette and the greenete looked at each other's eyes for a second, then left to the terrace on the rooftop.

Madoka walked, with quick steps, yet not quick enough to call it 'running', until she reached the nurse's office. She politely knocked, before opening the door.

"Ah, Madoka." Greeted the nurse with a smile. "Is everything alright? Are you not feeling well?"

"Ah, no, I'm okay." The shorter girl replied, shaking her head ever so slightly as she entered the room. "You see, I was just wondering if my friend- Homura-chan- is okay… Uhm… Do you know why she hasn't come to school today?"

"Ah, well. Homura Akemi called this morning to say she was feeling tired from yesterday's excursion, and she'd stay home for the day." As she spoke, the nurse tidied up some papers, keeping them inside one of the many lockers her table had. "No wonder. She is still recovering from the surgery, so, it must have been hard for her."

"S-surgery?" The teenager's magenta eyes widened in surprise and worry. "Wh-what?"

"Ah, didn't I tell you?" The nurse made a gesture with her hand to apologize. "My bad, my bad." She said. "I was going to tell you, so you could watch over her, since you are my assistant. You see, Homura came here after spending an eternity in the hospital. She had to struggle with a heart condition, and she is now still recovering from a transplant."

Madoka was way too shocked to realize her _bentou_ was now on the ground, and the box where it rested hadn't opened by miracle. She only realized when the nurse was giving it back to her after picking it up.

"Ah- s-sorry!" She quickly accepted it.

"Sill, I am the one who should apologize." Then, the woman grinned. "But I'm sure she is fine, since her grades are excellent, surprisingly even in physical education. Just keep an eye on her, and make sure she doesn't push herself too much, okay?"

"O…kay." The pinkette nodded, looking down. "W-well, s-see you later."

"See you."

She left and closed the door, and almost dropped her food again when she found herself face to face with the red head. "Kyoko-chan!" She exclaimed, quick enough to grab her _bentou_ before it fell anew.

"Can I come with ya?" She asked, stabbing the shorter girl with her eyes.

"Ah- uhm- sure." Madoka replied, giving her a small smile, before beginning to walk, dropping her shoulders.

"Somethin' wrong?" Kyoko inquired, looking at the other from the corner of her eye, as she began to munch on a crepe.

"Kyoko-chan… Is- Homura-chan okay?" The pinkette asked, showing all her concern.

"Hm?" The former swallowed. "Ah, yea. Why ya so worried?"

"You see… The nurse told me-"

"She ain't feeling well?" The compulsive eater cut her off. "Dat's tha version fo' humeen. Homura fine. It's just dat… Well, QB is back."

"K-kyubey?" Madoka widened her eyes, this time, just a little.

"Dha fuckeen' Incubator. She told ya 'bout 'im, right? She explain'd."

"Yes…"

"Well, he's back, so she want'd tho chase 'im. Dat's all." Kyoko licked her fingers, and then searched inside her paper bag, where who knew how much food she kept, and pulled out an apple. She bit it.

They walked in silence for a while, until they reached the stairs. Then, the pinkette spoke again. "The nurse also told me about… Something- that I d-didn't know."

"Wut?" the red head asked, after swallowing again.

"Kyoko-chan… Did you know Homura-chan had a heart disease?"

"O' course I know, yo." She said, swallowing the last bits of her apple and beginning to eat a sandwich. "She's mah sistah."

"R-right…" Madoka looked down again, but gasped when the other elbowed her.

"She okay. Magical gurl, remembah? Dis heart stuff is pass'd. She was still humeen when dat happn'd."

"Yo, Madoka!" Sayaka greeted, making them realize they had reached the roof. "Christian asshole, didn't know ya'd come too."

"Well, I can do whathevah I wanna." Kyoko answered.

"It's nice to see you again, Madoka-San, Kyoko-San." The bimbo greeted.

And that was when Madoka realized again how many secrets they kept from each other.

Break time was still tranquil, though. Hitomi was as polite as usual, and Madoka giggled and smiled, trying to seem natural and hiding that lump in her throat as Sayaka and Kyoko joked sharply.

The bell rang, and they were all going to leave, when Kyoko grabbed Sayaka by her sleeve.

"The fuck, transfer student?" Asked the bluenette, raising an eyebrow.

"Ya can go. We'll join ya latah." The red head said to the others shooing them with her free hand.

"Alright, don't be late." Hitomi said, before the two girls disappeared behind the door.

"Well, what's with that?" Sayaka asked.

"Ya havn't told me yet what wrong." Kyoko said, and pulled out a box of pocky. "Here, have one."

"Geez." Sayaka replied, accepting the treat and taking a seat. "Why are you so interested?"

"Oh, Sayi, we best friends, ya'r braking mah heartz!" The crimson-haired joked, dramatizing.

"So sad." The bluenette bit the chocolate stick, rolling her sapphire eyes. "And don't call me 'Sayi'. It's ridiculous."

"Just as ya'r behavior. Hell, stop keepin' eet to yarself, eet's just gonna drown ya if ya continue like dat."

"How do you know that?" Sayaka asked, glimpses of challenge in her voice.

"'I alreadeh told ya we're more similar dan wha' ya think."

The bluenette looked away. "Right. And what made you be 'stupid' no longer?"

Kyoko finished her treat, and for once, didn't immediately take another one. "Stuff happen'd. Stuff dat taught me moar dan any lesson dat wumeen ya call teachah gives ya." Then, she threw her arm around the bluenette's shoulders, forcing her to look back at her. "I know da lesson. And Imma tryin' to teach it to ya wizh no sufferin'. Much bethah hu? Ya have da oportuniteh tho learn wizhout pain, and dat's a huge privilege, if ya ast me."

The tomboy crossed her arms, looking down, unable to find a proper answer, and clicked her tongue when Kyoko began to swing from side to side.

"C'monnnnnnnn… Tell meeeeeeeeee. Ya know ya wannaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa." She kept insisting, again and again, until Sayaka whirled around and broke free from the red head's grasp.

"Fine, I will! Just stop it already!"

The rascal chuckled, and took another pocky from the box before offering it again. "Dis'll take time. But it okay if ya skip class, onleh fo' once. Aftah all, ya're good 'nough at P.E."

"Yeah, I… Guess."

.

Madoka's brows furrowed in worry, as she all but concentrated in the warm-up. As far as she knew, Kyoko and Sayaka wouldn't take long, that's what they had told her and Hitomi. Then… Why were they doing exactly the opposite of what they had told her?

"Madoka, can you come here for a moment?" The teacher asked her, one hand against her hip as the other held her notebook.

"Y-yes!" The pinkette immediately obliged, panting ever so slightly when she finally stood in front of the other.

"Since Sayaka and you are always together, do you know why she hasn't come to class now?"

"Uhm…" She was a bad liar, and she perfectly knew that. It took all her willpower for her not to look at the roof, and instead focus in her white sneakers, and all their details, like, how wasted they were, or how crooked was one of the laces.

"Ah, sorry for not telling you two before." The greenette said, as she joined the conversation in due time. "Sayaka-san and Kyoko-san felt tired because of yesterday's excursion, and decided to skip sports, so they would be able to keep up with the rest of the subjects today."

"In that case, they should have told me first."

"I'll- make sure to let them know, s-so it won't happen again." Madoka said, silently thanking her friend for coming to the rescue.

"Very well." The adult nodded at her, as she took a pen from her pocket, and wrote something in her teacher notebook. The pinkette could guess what it was, and bit her lip.

"Sadly…" Said the woman. "…I'll still have to report their unjustified absence. If that happens two more times, I'm afraid your friends will be expelled for a day."

"We'll let them know." Replied the greenette, and the two girls bowed politely, before continuing with the class.

.

When she crouched down in front of the river, she was still panting a bit. It wasn't hard for her to catch her breath, but she still felt the tiredness in her slender, yet strong figure. A whole morning of fighting, plus her actions when time didn't flow and she was the only one moving. It still affected, but the carcass she called 'her body' would be fully recovered in mere minutes.

She cleaned her Soul Gem, and almost smiled at the way Amy tried to playfully poke the Grief seed with its carbon-like paws. Almost, but never did so.

It was as if the muscles of her face were frozen. What would activate them again?

Even if she died in combat, she would die with a smile if she knew she had fulfilled her self-imposed duty, if she knew she had done as promised, if she knew Madoka was safe.

But to achieve that, she had to remain alive, strong, and as mentally stable as possible, which, in her status, was just as hard.

Amy's meow interrupted the ravenette's thoughts, as she felt how her furry friend padded at her skirt, looking at her with its glittering, yellow eyes.

In response, the magical girl scratched its chin, then petted its head and stroke its back. After that, she chose a small, flat rock from the ground, stood up and, with agility and a good aim, she threw it.

It bounced against the water's surface a few times, before disappearing in the stream.

"Come on, Amy." She said, looking down at the black she-cat. "Let's hunt for another while, and then, go prepare lunch."

.

"…So lemme get dis straight." Kyoko said, licking one of her lollypops. "Ya feelin' guilty 'cause ya can't help da guy ya luv 'cause he's in da hospital even though ya do yar best and da accident ain't yar fault?"

The bluenette sighed, looking away. "It just- makes me feel so worthless… He was such a talent, his hands were worth more than mine. But there he is, and here I am. It should have happened to me…" Her last sentence was a mere sorrowful whisper. She closed her eyes, and the red head looked up, to the sky.

"Ya know, ya shouldn't be like dat."

"Like what?" Asked Sayaka, turning her head around to stare at the other with widened eyes.

Kyoko left the candy bar to rest inside her mouth. "Ya worry 'bout 'eem, ya visit 'eem and bring 'eem stuff. Ya'r doeen more fo' 'eem dan anyone else."

"But it's not enough." The tomboy frowned.

The former took her time to notice the treat was causing her to begin to drool, and calmly licked her lips before staring back at the other. "Eet nevah 'nough. Stuff always happens, dat fucks yar life up and ya wish ya could do sometheen. Well, ya alreadeh are. Ya show ya luv 'eem, ya care, 'cause he's worth everytheen to ya, and eet's not ovah yet. When he gets bettah he'll understand."

"But he'll never play again." Sayaka replied, still frowning, looking down now.

"If he's smart, if he's such a talent, he'll adapt and find sometheen else." After the last syllable she pronounced, the bell rang. "C'mon, ya dun't wanna be late fo' next class. Let's get mooveen'." She then added.

"…'Kay." The bluenette sighed and stretched, and they both left.

.

The last classes were over, people began to leave, and Madoka ran to embrace her blue-haired childhood friend.

"Mado-Hmpf!"

"Sayaka-chan, please, don't do that again…" She hugged her tighter.

"Hey, hey." The other grinned, patting the pinkette's back. "Like I was dead, or something. I was just having a talk with Kyoko."

"Eh." The red head approached them. "Ya finally called me by mah name."

The former coughed to dissimulate, and Hitomi came too.

"Madoka-san is right." She said. "If you do that two more times, the teacher said you'll be expelled."

"Meh." Sayaka stood up, as the shorter girl let go of her. "Oh, she said so, did she?"

"Pardon me?" The bimbo lifted an eyebrow.

"I mean, c'mon! It's the first time I do it, like if I were to get used and do it every day."

Kyoko clicked her tongue in the background. "Bad gurl, CC, ya're a bad gurl."

"Hey!" The tomboy lifted her fist at the red head. "You were the one who told me to stay!"

"Don't say ya regret." She grinned, and waved at her. "BBye." And the last think they saw of the rascal was the packed doughnut she threw at Sayaka, whose eyes widened.

And then they thought, that for once, they should do like that red head, and go home. After all, they had been given homework to do and finish, instead of worthlessly wondering why the other was strange enough to be rude to someone and then give them treats.

.

The door slammed open when a foot in a long boot kicked it. Then, she heard the screech: the second announcement that her pseudo-sister was back home.

"Hello, Homora!" Kyoko yelled, showing off, proudly, her ability with puns. Then, seeing she got no answers, the red head closed the door, causing another annoying ratchet, and then went towards the living room, where Homura was, indeed, staring blankly at that enormous pile of floating pictures.

"I smell food?" She asked, with her fanged grin.

"Food's ready." The ebony replied, dryly.

"Good." Kyoko was about to enter the kitchen, but stopped to a halt two steps away from it, to throw a last glance at the ravenette. "Guess who's been worry'd all day?"

The former blinked, and stared at the other with a poker face.

"Yup, yup." A last grin, before she entered the kitchen.

Homura sighed, and the pinkette's name escaped her mouth, in the shape of a whisper. Then, she followed.

Once everything was settled down and ten dishes of pasta had been swallowed by Kyoko, the same compulsive eater finally opened the conversation, as the other was politely going through her only plate.

"How 'bout Fuckeen QB?" She asked.

"First mock, first speech, first shot."

"Ah." Another dish, before the red head spoke again. "And da hunt?"

"Most of them were stray minions." Homura replied, turning a bit to search in one of her pockets. "Here, that's all I've got." She then said, putting three Grief Seeds on the table, and pushing them towards the other. "I already have some half-used ones, so you should keep those."

Without arguing or thanking, and between bites and chomps, Kyoko did as told.

The rest of the lunch was silent, except for the eating noises the compulsive eater made.

.

The stray cat roamed streets and roofs, after having eaten much sooner than the two magical girls, and licked its fur 'till it shone like obsidian.

It stopped and sat on a building, to take a good look at a familiar place.

It was only a crossroad, not too busy with people and vehicles, yet some cars still passed sometimes.

And those would have been the cause of its death, if that tiny, innocent, pink-haired girl hadn't seen it all broken, its life's blood streaming away. That girl was met by another white, feline-like creature she asked a wish from, and then, the she-cat was back to its feet.

A week later, the pinkette had met an ebony, whose long hair was tied in twin braids, and red glasses rested on her face: a pale, thin girl, sick to the heart. The three of them had become good friends.

But now, it is the only one to remember, it and Homura.

The pinkette died at the end of the month, just like their blonde, curly-haired friend. Ravenette girl and ravenette cat witnessed how the magical girls and the strongest witch –Walpurgisnacht- killed one another.

Then, the ravenette girl made a wish too, to that white alien, so then she'd be able to protect that girl who had saved both, their lives and souls.

Ever since then, Homura had been repeating that same month of April countless times. A little alteration to the result of her wish had given her fifteen days of advantage, since she always woke up on the sixteenth of March, and had enough time to settle everything before the official time line, aka, the month of April, begun.

And Amy was always there, to go find her, or else, to be found by her. It was the only thing that kept the time-traveler sane all the time, the little being that connected both, the ebony and the pinkette.

Maybe that small connection was what let the she-cat remember everything, just like Homura did. The ebony was who had made the wish, Madoka was the center of all the time lines, and Amy, that connection between the two, so dear to both of them, even though a certain someone would never remember.

Amy didn't mind it, though. It was enough to it that the pinkette was always friendly, and that the ravenette treasured it, fed it…

And yet, that same ravenette suffered, sometimes even cried at night, because she wanted to save the girl she loved, because the girl she loved would never remember her.

And Amy was always there, to give her something to hold on to.

Now, as the black fur ball roamed the city, it spotted a familiar shade of pink, and decided to follow.

.

She had made up her mind, and done her homework as soon as she could, so then she'd have enough time to visit her friend. If before she had had got things to ask her, now there were more. She just hoped Homura wouldn't be busy, or else, end up overwhelmed by all her questions.

Hurrying across the streets, Madoka was deep inside her own thoughts, when something jumped on her from a roof.

It surprised her, and threw her down, making her body meet the hard concrete, and earning a squeal from her.

Then, she opened her eyes, shaking her head and rubbing it. "A-amy-chan?" She blinked twice, when the small animal on her meowed wickedly. "Amy-chan, bad! You scared me!" She scolded, with a small pout.

It didn't last long, though. In a few seconds, it had turned into a small smile, as the tiny pinkette petted the she-cat on its head. "Don't do it again, okay?"

"Meooow…~"

Madoka giggled as her furry friend licked her cheek, but suddenly, she spotted some people staring at her in the distance, some with a poker face, other with surprise, and, a few of them, in worry.

Her face bright red, she stood up as fast as she could, picking the cat up and running away with it.

A few streets later, Amy jumped from her arms, and stared at her with a questioning look.

"Sorry, Amy-chan…" The pinkette sighed, knowing her blush hadn't fully faded, yet. "I was just- so embarrassed…" Then, she blinked anew. "Is- Is Homura-chan at home? Is she okay?"

The stray cat rubbed against her legs, and then began to walk, beckoning her with its tail, and sometimes, turning around to check she was following.

"Oh? Ah, s-sorry!" Madoka finally understood, and caught up with the animal, before walking together.

.

"Geez…" Sayaka talked to herself, as usual when she was alone, when neither Madoka nor Hitomi came with her.

"She doesn't come with me anymore, so I have to visit him alone." She sighed. She didn't know if she felt annoyed, jealous, or else, if she needed to be annoyed at someone to make her grief easier to bear. "I don't even know if she's doing her homework, or else, going to visit that weird transferred student. I wonder what she sees in her."

After entering the hospital and greeting the nurses, she headed towards the elevator, and once inside, she sighed, as she pressed the button. "The new girls are weird, and I'm sure they do weird things when no one sees them. I'm worried about Madoka, maybe she has already joined."

She looked above, as the way upwards seemed eternal. "Kyoko doesn't seem that bad, too. She's just rude and stupid, and sometimes weird too, but she doesn't seem that bad. The scary one is Homura."

The elevator finally reached its stop, and the bluenette walked out, now searching for that familiar door. "If what Kyoko said is true… I can say I would've never expected Madoka to like that kind of people."

She knocked a few times, before she heard a voice telling her to enter, that voice that caused her to feel butterflies in her stomach. She opened the door, doing as told.

"Good afternoon." She greeted, with a grin.

"Hi." The silver-haired boy replied, from his hospital bed. He didn't seem in a very good mood.

"I-I brought you some CDs I rented! I heard you playing those songs once, so maybe you like them." Doing her best to keep smiling, she sat in the chair beside him.

"Sayaka…" The boy looked at her, his eyes full of hatred. She skipped a beat. "Are you trying to torture me?"

"What are you saying?" She asked, her grin completely fading, now.

"Are you trying to remind me that I can't play anymore? To shove against my face the things I once could do, even though now I am disabled?"

"N-no…" Her blue eyes were as widened as they could be. "I-I just thought you liked it!"

He looked away. "I hate it…" He whispered.

"Wh-what…?" She felt her stomach drop.

"I hate it!" He screamed, smashing a glass of water beside him with his bandaged hand.

Sayaka gasped, and moved to grab his arm before he hurt himself even more.

"I don't want to listen to music anymore! What's the point if I can't play it anymore?!" He cried, his body completely tensed.

"Y-you can't give up!" Sayaka desperately held his bleeding limb with trembling hands. "Y-you were so good, maybe you can play again once you get better!"

"I won't…" He whimpered. "The doctors said I wouldn't be able to move my hand anymore. I can't even feel pain on it…"

The bluenette turned to stare at him, tears forming in her eyes.

"They told me to give up… To even throw my violin away…" He then rubbed away his tears with his healthy hand, and stared at the wall, swollen, reddened eyes full of pain, anger, resignation and despair. "I already told my teacher to do so…"

The whole room dropped to a silence. No sounds, no movements, except for the tears that fell from both their eyes, and the drops of blood staining bandages, sheets and fabric.

That, and the shattered glass, were the only things that made Sayaka snap away from her trance and go call a nurse.

.

How dumb she had been to think that following a cat would be as easy as following her mother to the market.

She was wrong.

Once Amy had begun to jump on walls and roofs, it had become much, much harder to make out where she would appear next, and many times, Madoka had to walk in circles around blocks to find it again, impatiently flicking its black tail. She then apologized, and the walk continued, before she lost it again.

But now, not only had she lost Amy, but also herself. Again in an unknown place, where she didn't know where to go or where she came from, she looked around, drawing in shaky breaths. "A-amy-chan?" She called. No answers came, and she yelled louder. "Amy-chan?!"

"Right here."

"Meooow.~"

She turned around and gasped, taking a step backwards, for she didn't expect to find the taller girl, cat in shoulder, aka, the two beings she had been searching for.

"Homura-chan! S-sorry, I got lost again…" She looked down, blushing a little.

"It's okay. It's not your fault." She said, and then, turned her head around to glare at the she-cat, who was calmly licking its paw.

"U-uhm…" The pinkette looked around, and then, back at Homura. "Wh-where are we?"

"The outskirts of the city." She said, looking away. "There aren't many witches over here, but sometimes, you find surprises. All I found today was a minion." Then, she looked back at Madoka. "Ah, my bad. You've had to walk a lot to find me. I should have known you were going to search for me."

"N-no, I… Was worried." Madoka replied, smiling sadly.

"Didn't you have my phone, though?"

At this, she widened her magenta eyes, biting her lips.

"…I see." Homura looked away. "Well, there is no point in thinking about it, anymore." She said. "Just, remember that the next time, before you cross half Mitakihara, following a cat who'll make you get lost."

"I'm… Sorry…" The pinkette looked down, making the taller girl feel the urge to pat her head in reassurance. She didn't, though.

"Don't." She replied, instead, bringing back the other's stare. "After all, you came all this way, only to see me." Again, the ravenette looked away. "You are too kind for your own good."

"Y-you…" Madoka swallowed saliva, in fear to comment, but she did so anyways. "Y-you say it as if being kind was a-actually a bad thing." Then, she eyed the other in concern.

"No." A small pause, before the ebony finished her answer. "…Just dangerous."

The pink-haired girl's mouth opened a little, sensing experience in those pretty, lavender eyes, wondering again how much they had seen to turn so cold.

"Come." The former's voice snapped her out of her musing. "Follow me."

"Ah?" Even though she was a bit surprised, Madoka did as told, walking behind the taller girl, as Amy jumped down from that thin shoulder, and then walked with them.

Soon enough, they reached a lonely bench. Homura took a seat, and signaled the pinkette to do the same. As expected, she obliged. Meanwhile, Amy went to roam around, maybe to search for a pray or do cat things.

"I need to tell you something important, Madoka, and I trust you will listen." The coal-haired suddenly blurted out, in her usual tone of voice, though, maybe a bit more serious.

"I will." The shorter girl nodded.

"Maybe Kyoko has already told you… That the reason why I skipped school today is that Kyubey is back."

"…Right." She nodded anew.

"What I am going to tell you is… Please, keep an eye on Miki Sayaka." Now, Homura was piercing Madoka's eyes with her own, as if penetrating them to her very soul. That made the other shrink.

"U-uh?" The pinkette voiced out her surprise, and a bit of a new concern, too.

"With that boy in the hospital, Miki Sayaka is an easy prey for the Incubator. Her stubborn selflessness will carry her to make the contract as soon as he finds her. You know what that means."

"Yes…" She frowned.

"You are her best friend, and I know she trusts you and treasures you. That's why." Finally, Homura's eyes went to stare back at somewhere else, the horizon, perhaps. "But don't let your worries consume you."

As the ebony's stare had left hers, Madoka didn't feel hypnotized anymore. She blinked rapidly, before looking back at her. "H-homura-chan… You said that Sayaka-chan trusts me… D-do you trust me too?" She was surprised at her own question, but she could tell that Homura was even more dazzled than her.

Holding, almost desperately, to her composure, the ravenette merely eyed her back. "I do trust you." She replied, as plainly as she managed to. "You are an honest, selfless, good girl." _The best girl I've ever met, the best girl I'll ever meet._ After saying that, then after thinking that, she was already regretting it, and cursing inwardly. Why that sudden question? And why that blunt answer of hers?

And to her bigger surprise, she heard the pinkette sighing in content, though her expression still revealed some concerns, despite her small smile, and that delicate glitter in her eyes. "I am glad, Homura-chan…" And then, all of a sudden, she rested her head on the former's shoulder. "I trust you too." She added, with that sweet voice of hers.

Homura's eyes completely widened, and her face was suddenly dyed with a deep red she was glad Madoka couldn't actually see from her position. She tried to think that it was a natural thing friends did, that she could even recall having seen some times the same pinkette doing that with Sayaka, but she couldn't help feeling her heart racing, almost aggressively, and every single muscle of hers tensing. That had happened before, she knew it. In other time lines, even the past one, the shorter girl had grown confident around her, slowly, had even seen some kindness in her she had long forgotten, and then, they both had been able to say they loved each other.

The most painful thing was that the last day before Walpurgisnacht was the day they were the closest.

Then, as suddenly as she had done her last movement, Madoka retrieved her head, blushing maybe as much as the other. "A-ah, sorry! W-well- Th-there was s-something I… Wanted to inquire in…"

"Go on." The raven-haired replied, turning her head to hide the remaining blush on her face, and the other handful of emotions.

"It's, uhm…" The pinkette breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down. "Th-the nurse told me that… You had been through a heart transplant. A-and Kyoko-chan said that, w-well, it was when you were still a human." She sighed, and looked down, then, back at the magical girl. "D-does it still affect you? Uhm… Is it something I should be worried about?"

"…No." Was the only answer Homura gave back. Her face as pale as it should always be, she finally stared back at the tiny teenager. She saw in her eyes how that single word had left her, maybe it had been a bit dry, after all, at least, to someone as delicate as Madoka was.

"As I once told you, this body is a carcass, easily repaired with magic. It's like a machine, I can't even feel pain." Added the ravenette. "So, no, you don't have to worry. It doesn't affect me at all."

"O…kay…" The pink-haired girl looked away. "It's just that- you must have suffered a lot…"

 _If you knew…_ The ebony sighed. _Such a silly thing is not the actual cause of my sorrows. Madoka- I need to save you, that's all I wish for._ "It doesn't matter anymore." She answered, staring at her, and bringing magenta eyes to stare back again. "My past is left far away, blurry in the distance. All I have left from it is a scar, nothing else than that."

This time, Madoka didn't even say anything. With an expression similar to a pout, yet more serious, she gave Homura a hug, leaving her defenseless against her adorableness, and all the feelings that brought her back.

"M-Madoka?" The paler girl asked, now struggling not to abandon her frozen tone of voice, not to widen her eyes, not to squeal as she would have done in the past.

"Shhh, Homura-chan. Everyone needs a hug, from time to time. E-even mam-… my mother says that."

Homura knew that. When it came to selflessness, to help other people, Madoka became very stubborn, even though in the insides she might be wondering if she was doing right, or if the other was angry.

She also knew that she had no other choice, but returning the hug, distantly, as usual.

It was only when Amy interrupted them with a meow that they realized that it was beginning to get late, and there was half an hour left for the sun to set.

.

"I'm home.~" The pinkette chirped, as she entered her house, and closed the door behind her.

"Ah, Madoka." Junko greeted her, with her usual motherly grin. "Where have you been?"

Different pictures flashed through her mind: Amy, Homura, the bench, the outskirts, the sunset. Then, she answered. "I-I went to visit Homura-chan."

"Ah, yeah, you said before that she hadn't come to school because she wasn't feeling too well, right?" Her mother replied, with another question, as she left her shoes on their place in the entrance, before the two, girl and woman, walked towards the lonely living room.

"Yes." She replied, and then looked around, before staring again at her mother. "Where are Papa and Tatsuya?" She then asked, changing the topic for a moment.

"Ah, you know, they start with a nap, but they end up spending all the afternoon sleeping." Junko replied, her eyes and voice completely stained with amusement.

Madoka giggled a little. "Yeah, you are right."

"Well…" They sat in the sofa, and her mother continued with the former set of questions. "And was she feeling better? She really seemed healthy when she came here, though… Something is telling me that she's the kind of person to keep everything inside."

"Yes, she was." The pinkette replied, with a nod. "And… Yes, she is." At least, for what she had seen, it was impossible to know what she thought or felt, even though Madoka knew she wasn't a bad person, and trusted her, and… "A-actually, there is something I wanted to tell you, Mama…"

"What is it? Is everything okay, sweetheart?" Junko looked at her.

"W-well, I d-don't know how to say that." The tiny teenager murmured, her eyes cast to the floor as she remembered her way back home, how Homura had walked her there, using her time manipulation to arrive sooner, how, when she understood that to humans that distance was tiresome, she had carried her, jumping on the roofs as she always did. Madoka hadn't been able to speak, she had just stared at her face's traits, that pale complexion, those cold, lavender eyes, that sharp jawline, that silky, night-colored hair that swung prettily in the air. To anyone, that mysterious girl could be pretty. To her, she was hypnotizing, and she always got those strong heart beats, that strange feeling, almost nostalgic, that made her feel she had known that beauty for a while, even though it had only been eleven days.

"Madoka, you are beginning to worry me. C'mon, won't you tell your mother?"

As Junko's voice interrupted her thoughts, she realized she had been silent for too long. She stared at her with innocent, glittering eyes. "M-mama… H-have you ever had th-that strange feeling of attraction for someone?"

At this, the woman's eyes widened first, then, she burst into laughs. "Aw, sweetie, you should have told me earlier!" She said in between chuckles.

"N-no, it's not like that!" Or at least, she thought so, shaking her hands at her mother.

"Then…" Junko said, as she wiped away small tears of laughter. "…You should explain it to me, right, sweetie?"

"Mmm…" Madoka stared downwards anew. "Y-yeah."

As she put an order to her words, her mother patiently waited. It took a few minutes until the pinkette talked again.

"Homura-chan is… P-pretty, and smart, and cool, and strong… Sh-she is a-always by herself, and I k-kind of… Admire her?" She put her hands together, and fidgeted a little. "I d-don't know much about her past, b-but… But it seems like she had a tough life. She… She lives all alone with her sister and a cat!"

As she listened, Junko never said a word. She paid all the attention she had, her brows sometimes raising ever so slightly at her daughter's words.

"Homura-chan doesn't depend on anyone, b-but for some reason, sh-she is always there to comfort me, to protect me. I-I wish I could do the same for her, even though she doesn't need it. A-and I…" She began to blush. "I don't know why, but I k-kind of feel like… Like if I had met her before. I e-even dreamed of her the night before I met her, and I…" Now that she felt that heat on her cheeks, she hid her face behind her hands. "I-I think I… Feel s-something f-for her, Mama… B-but I don't know what it is."

After a short silence, her mother smiled kindly, and looped one of her arms around her tiny shoulders. "You know, Madoka," she said, "you are in an age when you change a lot, and maybe you begin to like things you never thought about, and meet surprising people like that 'Homura-chan' of yours. It's okay if you are now confused, it's okay if you appreciate her as a friend or you feel something deeper. She's just transferred to your school, and you two have a whole life in front of you, to think and discover, and test, and fail, and succeed. You don't have to decide now, just take it easy, and some day, the answer will be there, clear as water."

Again, the pinkette put away her negative thoughts. Yes, she had a whole life in front of her, but Homura's and Kyoko's would be much, much shorter, she knew that.

"As to Homura, she indeed seems independent. I just wonder which kind of parents would leave their two daughters by themselves." Junko gritted her teeth a bit at this, but remained calm, though. "However, let me tell you something: I have seen her twice, and I think that, in the inside, she is very shy, and broken. And what you say does only make it more evident."

Madoka looked up at her, interrogative.

"That girl is polite, but very, very cold, and she never smiles. She keeps avoiding physical contact, everyone's but yours. Of course, she is used to and familiar with her sister, but it looks like, if she were to lay hope on someone, this would be you. I've seen it, she trusts you, Madoka. Her own way, of course, but she trusts you." Then, she grinned at her daughter's surprised eyes. "After all, and after that frozen shell of hers, she seems like a good kid. And so are you, darling. If you say she has done so much for you, it's because you deserve it. You are the kindest girl ever, and I'm proud of the way we've raised you. I know that you'll be there for her, always, as well as for the rest of your friends."

The pinkette smiled, still blushing, and embraced her mother. "Thank you, Mama." She whispered. "For everything."

Returning the hug, Junko smiled warmly. "Maybe you could invite Homura-chan for a sleepover this weekend, if you don't have much homework, so then we can know her better, and you too."

Madoka quickly pulled away, her eyes shining. "Really?"

The businesswoman winked. "After all, that's when girls get to know each other better. You could also invite her sister, Kyoko, wasn't she called that? After all, she really enjoyed Papa's cooking, last time."

"Okay! I… I will tell them tomorrow!"

"Perfect. Now, let's go wake Papa up and have dinner."

"Alright!"

.

"Madoka."

She turned her head to look at the other girl. "Homura-chan?"

In the darkness of the pink room, the ravenette looked like a mere shadow, and yet, there was something different about her behavior, but the pinkette couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.

"Please, come with me." The same cold voice said.

"Where?" Madoka asked, widening her magenta eyes in surprise.

"Someplace else, where walls don't hear."

"O-okay, give me a moment…" The shorter girl got off the bed, and ducked towards the button of the lights. She turned them on, and the sudden flash made her narrow her eyes.

Homura was there, in her magical girl outfit, stoic, motionless, and yet her head was slightly bowed, her fringe casting a shadow to her face.

A little worried, Madoka put on the same jacket as the other day, the same white sneakers. "I-I'm ready…" She muttered.

"Good." The ravenette nodded, and as gently as two nights ago, she picked her up, turned off the lights and left, using the window.

Again, Madoka squealed, 'till she got used to the heights and the speed.

Soon enough, they reached Homura's roof, Kyoko was there too, but, for some strange reason, she wasn't grinning, instead munching on some crackers.

Indeed, there was something wrong with those two, that night.

The ebony lowered her to the ground, and then walked a few steps away.

"Hey." Greeted the red head.

"Homura-chan, Kyoko-chan…" Madoka swallowed saliva. "Wh-what's going on?"

"…Should I tell ha'?" The rascal asked, looking at the other magical girl.

"No." Homura sighed. "I will." Then, she turned around, and stared at Madoka with those cold, lavender eyes of hers, but this time, they looked really tired.

"H-homura…chan?" Madoka blinked, even more worried.

"Madoka… I'm sorry." The former said, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. "We've tried our best, but we couldn't help it…"

Kyoko looked away.

"What…?" The pinkette's voice was shaky with fear.

"Miki Sayaka… Has made the contract."

Madoka's eyes completely widened. At first, words didn't come out. Then, she slowly approached the paler girl. "No…" She croaked out. "N-no, it can't be…"

Homura's eyes were looking deeply at the floor, her fringe casting again that shadow over them. "This is nonsense…" She whispered, with a shaky, pained voice. "I know how this is going to finish. First Tomoe Mami, then, Miki Sayaka. All my efforts are worthless, the loop keeps repeating."

Kyoko's eyes widened, as she turned to stare at her sister, swallowing heavily whatever she had in her mouth.

"H-homura-chan? What-what are you saying? Homura-chan, please, answer me! Homura-chan!" The smaller girl grabbed the taller one by her thin shoulders, even shook her a little, but the other didn't react anymore. She was completely absent, just as the brightness her Soul Gem once had, it now almost as dark as her hair.

"Madoka!" Kyoko ran towards them, and slapped the ebony away from the pinkette's grip.

With a thud, and the sound of bones colliding against solid, she fell, and her body met the ground. She didn't react at that, either, just as if she were a broken doll, who had lost its function.

Madoka was shaking, she covered her mouth with her hands, as tears began to fill her eyes. "Homura-chan…" Was all her throat let her whisper.

And just as she finished, all the clocks in the city changed.

Where it once said '23:59', it now said '00:00'.


	12. Day 12

Once upon a time line,  
Tears of grief were shed.  
Many things had happened,  
And her despair they fed.

No more yellow's living,  
Her life was taken off.  
It seemed like all her blind hope  
Was never good enough.

The blue one was already  
walking in the way  
Of drowning in her sorrows  
Since her contract was made.

Sharp, crimson eyes stared down  
At whom was on the ground,  
Shaking her so roughly  
'till her Soul Gem was shown.

Magenta eyes that burnt hard  
As she tried to contain  
All the pain and concern  
That made her feel the blame.

And that girl on the ground lied  
As she saw fade away  
All the hope she had placed  
On that fresh and new stage.

But nothing else matters,  
For she doesn't mind,  
Because it all happened  
Once upon a time  
(line).

.

She couldn't believe what she had done, yet there was that ring with written runes in her finger to remind her that everything was real.

When she was a child, she had played with Madoka very often. She always had been the knight, and the pinkette had been the princess.

Then, she had begun to read manga, and her roles had changed as she had become the ultra-powerful magical girl that defeated monsters, always protecting her comrade and city too, but that time, the two of them had fought.

Now, she was currently living the stories she had dreamed of when she was young: She had saved whom she loved, she would save the city by hunting witches and she would be a hero! For the first time since Kyousuke had had the accident she was happy. And not only happy, but also shining in true eagerness and high expectations: she couldn't wait to go save the day.

But she'd have to. It was late night, and she should already be sleeping. If her parents knew she was still awake they would scold her.

And she would keep that wide grin on her face, because nothing could upset her now.

Yet sadly, but maybe not so sadly, she could only picture, again and again, that magical moment when everything had happened. She didn't mind, though, and she'd watch it like a movie as much as she wanted until she fell asleep.

'What seems to be the matter, Miki Sayaka?' An adorable white little animal had asked her, as she was sulking on the roof.

'What the hell?' That had been her first reaction, as startled as confused. Was it some kind of a joke? Or worse, was she seeing things? She had wondered.

'My name is Kyubey.' It had grinned at her, gesturing the most adorable way it could, always smiling. 'I've detected you're having trouble right now, but don't worry! I'm here to help you.'

At first, she had been surprised, but if she was seeing things, she thought, what she did wouldn't matter anymore. Then, she had grown confident with that being: For some reason, it felt trustable, and finally, she had let it all out, just like she had done with Kyoko.

'…only a miracle would heal him…' She had then stated, after her venting.

'Miki Sayaka.' It had then said, approaching her. 'Do you really believe in magic and miracles?'

And the next thing she remembered was her wish, the pain she had felt when those pseudo-ears had approached her chest, and how then, full of determination, she had reached for her newly-formed soul gem.

There was no way she would ever regret this incredible opportunity.

Maybe, though, just like in the anime, she'd keep it as a secret from her friends, for now.

.

Voices, all of them full of regret and self-hate. They intertwined and mingled, turning scarcely understandable, as they filled her, in the insides, in the outsides. She'd never be able to distinguish them, to count them, but they were already causing a strong ache to her head, and, even worse, a deep pain to her heart.

She was broken, she knew it. She had found out a long, long time ago. And being broken caused _that_ to happen.

There was neither a beginning nor an end: she was in her own labyrinth. And yet, all her senses were numbed, as she walked aimlessly through that horrible place, that dragged her further below each time, deeper and deeper into her own insanity.

"…Hello?" She tentatively called, her voice drowned by all those sounds that didn't even let her breathe.

Maybe, just lying down, would be the best option.

There was no salvation- not for her, at least. And, giving it a second thought, not for anyone.

This was not only a nightmare, but all of them in one: she could witness them all at the same time.

They were all surrounding her, and there was no way out.

.

Her voice had long since cracked, and an endless flow of tears came from her magenta eyes. She couldn't believe her eyes, she didn't want to: that couldn't be real.

Her childhood friend couldn't have become one to follow the path of a slow destruction.

And her strong Homura-chan couldn't be there, lying on the ground a way that made her heart clench painfully.

She was desperate, yet no words came. All she could do was nothing but to stare at the red head who was roughly grabbing the other girl's left arm, and checking at the black, diamond-shaped jewel in the back of her pale, porcelain-like hand, with thin fingers that hung lifelessly.

"Shit." Was the first she said. She then completed her sentence with a vehement and enraged "holly shit".

And just then, Madoka's voice finally worked. "Is- Homura-chan- how- why?" She stammered out, hiccupping as she wouldn't be able to stop crying.

"She's an idiot, that what she's." Kyoko spat out, maybe more to handle her own emotions than to insult her adoptive sister. "Yo idiot! Gimme yar Grief Seeds! Wanna die? No?! Then gimme da fuckeen Grief Seeds!"

She wasn't surprised, though, when she saw that no reactions came. With a sigh of exasperation, and four more curses, she began to dig in the other's pockets, only to find two dark jewels, already black and beating: they were full, and she could feel the despair they emanated.

'I already have some half-used ones, so you should keep those.'

That's what the ebony had told her at lunch time, but in that time-lapse, it seemed that she had already used them to the fullest.

"Damn-eet." Kyoko gritted her teeth, as she put those back where she had found them, and instead, searched for hers. Where the hell were they now?

'I didn't- waste food! Just da ketchup fell on me, and I ate it anyways! But dere's dis spot, so I'm ganna wash eet an' put anothah one.'

'Whatever. Just make sure to be quick, since we still have to-' A pause, a small gulp of saliva and a sigh. '…to tell Madoka about Miki Sayaka's contract.'

'Won't take time.'

Now, it was Kyoko's turn to facepalm herself: that had happened just before leaving for the Kaname house, a small while ago. If she had known, then…

Maybe she was the stupid one, too, and maybe she relied too much on Homura to control everything.

And she always did- except for when she was not in the mood.

In the mood for what? For continuing to hang on, perhaps?

However, the girl on the ground was running out of time, and she needed to be quick at thinking.

If all those time lines hadn't happened, maybe…

But what, or who was the center of the loop, after all?

Madoka.

The name rang inside her head like a gong, and she quickly turned to the sobbing girl. "Suddup and help me!" She yelled.

Madoka's stupor was enough to keep her silent for a few seconds, except for, of course, a couple of sniffles and hiccups.

"I'm ganna search fo' da Seeds! Ya do someheen useful and keep her feet on dah ground!"

Why was the red head now asking her to help? Could she really help? Could she really contribute to save Homura?

"Hurreh up!"

The pinkette shook her head and ran to the other's side, instantly kneeling beside her. She barely saw the red flash as Kyoko hurried away.

"H-homura-chan…" She gently whispered, although tears were streaming again. She kindly held the magical girl's head, and carefully placed in her lap.

"Homura-chan…" She murmured again, taking her hand ever so softly, and placing it on her tear-stained cheek. "Please, stay here… S-stay with me… I-" She swallowed saliva, with a small hesitation, her aching heart skipping a beat. "I love you, Homura-chan…"

.

'Homura-chan?'

"K-kaname-san? Wh-where are you, Kaname-san?"

'Right here, Homura-chan.'

It was a dream, it could be nothing but a dream. Everything inside her hurt so badly, yet her body felt so numb… Real or not, she desperately searched for that shade of pink, but it was nowhere to be found.

"K-kaname-san…" She couldn't help being so _weak_ , and she began to cry, for what? Didn't she know? All lies. She perfectly knew it.

"I… I've failed you, Kaname-san…" She wept, unable to control the alarming amount of tears she was letting go.

'Homura-chan, don't say that.' That gentle voice had her looking up again. 'I'm still alive, remember?'

But for how long, until that time line ended? Everything was repeating, she could foresee the disastrous end that was coming. Yes, it was granted. Everything was worthless. She should have died as a human, that at least would have kept Madoka alive… Right?

'Homura-chan?!'

Worthless. Everything was worthless, and she was losing all hope.

'Homura-chan, you'll do it! J-just don't let me disappear!'

Hope, was being ripped away, slowly murdered. She wanted to save that hope, for she wanted to save that girl, but she couldn't move a single bit.

"K-kaname-san?!"

'Homura-chan!'

…And the voice of hope was just full of horror, so wounded as it desperately called for its owner, that owner that relied on it so much, to not let it die like that-.

-Yet, suddenly…

"Homura-chan…"

The same voice, but it sounded so tangible, so… Real.

It was Madoka.

Madoka was _crying_.

She was crying, and Homura would do nothing to help it, would she?

No, she wasn't dead, Madoka wasn't dead, but suffering instead.

And she couldn't let that happen.

.

No reactions, no emotions, no movements, the lying girl really seemed like a porcelain doll, so fragile, so broken. All Madoka could do was keep on whispering sweet nothings at her, hoping that it would be enough, for if not, she didn't know what else to do.

Homura, that girl who had saved her, who was her friend, who she liked so much…Would she finally be able to pay her back?

The fear of her being useless, the fear of the ebony dying or falling on her made her cry harder, but she choked down every single one of her sobs, and kept the other girl's hand against her soaked cheek, and kept stroking that long, silky, black hair, ever so softly, yet trembling uncontrollably.

All of a sudden, though, there was the smallest reaction from the magical girl. She cupped the pinkette's face with her hand, weekly, clumsily, but it was something.

"H-Homura-chan?" The smaller girl's crying eyes widened.

"Ma…do…ka…" Her voice was so low, so distant, as if coming from someone who was far away, in another world.

The world of despair, as far as she knew.

"Don't… Cry…" That haunted voice whispered, as if it took her all her strengths. "You… Are okay…"

"B-but, Homura-chan! What about you?" Madoka cried, holding that hand tighter.

"You… Are… O…kay…" The other repeated, a bit more gone, a bit more absent each second.

It all was too much for the pinkette, and she was about to break right there when she remembered she was not supposed to be the one who was reassured. She remembered that, this time, it was the other way, or at least, until Kyoko would finally come back.

"Homura-chan, you… You're okay, wh-whatever happens, it'll be okay." She murmured gently, her sweet voice cracking. "I love you, please, stay here…" She was now begging.

"S-stay… Here…?" The other girl asked.

"Y-yes, you have to stay here! I-I won't let you go- … O-okay…?"

"Stay… Here…" She whispered faintly.

"Y-yes…" Madoka nodded, then sniffled. "Stay here…" She repeated gently.

"Stay…" Homura's eyes were closing.

"N-no, Homura-chan…!" The pinkette was now gripping that pale hand with both of hers. "Y-you have to stay! Y-you said you would stay…! Please…" She couldn't resist it anymore, and bended downwards to hug the other girl, and then broke into sobs. "P-please…" She repeated, closing her watery eyes shut.

"Ya definitely cry a lot." Kyoko's sharp voice made her jump. She stared at her with widened eyes.

She saw that the red head had a black-and-beating grief seed in her hand, a similar one at her knees, Homura's soul gem was shining purple again, and the girl, unconscious in her small lap.

"K-kyoko-chan…?" Madoka asked, way too shocked to even react.

"Eet's done, gurl." The rascal answered, nodding. "Homu oky now. Just 'sleep."

The pinkette looked down at the sleeping girl. "I…" She murmured.

"Ah, Princess Bubblegum." Kyoko's voice brought back her attention. "Gj. Eet's thanks to ya she's still, uh… Un-witched, if ya know wha' I mean."

The shorter girl finally wiped her tears dry with her sleeve, still sniffling a little, still hiccupping a little. She had made it, she had helped Homura. But how? She just couldn't understand how someone as weak as she was could save that strong girl from despair, and also, how such strong girl could even fall into despair. Maybe, she was just a stupid ignorant, but at least, she had done something useful.

Homura was okay.

She didn't know, though, if the girl had truly heard what she had said. If she found out that she had, she would melt with embarrassment.

But now, she was way too relieved to keep thinking about that.

"I ganna carry 'er down, and 'en carry ya back home." Kyoko suddenly declared, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"A-ah…" She felt a loss of warmth as the red head took Homura. "A-actually, Kyoko-chan…" She took a small step forwards, but the other girl's sharp, crimson eyes made her draw back a little. "N-never mind …" She then murmured.

The red head stared at her for a while, but then, turned her head back around. "Humeen are so weird…" She whispered, before turning again at the shrinking pinkette. "If ya wanna stay with 'er just com' een."

"Wh-what…?" Madoka blushed a little, but her after-crying face would not give it away, or, at least, she hoped so. "R-really?" She murmured.

"Yeah, com' een." The other repeated, before using the roof gate to enter the house, the shorter girl obediently trailing behind.

Once inside, Kyoko left Homura in her own bed, that bed that was only used in the weekends, if lucky, or sometimes even less.

Against the mattress, the ebony's body unconsciously turned to lay sideface and curl up in fetal position, as if she were hugging something –an imaginary Amy, perhaps?-, and the sight was so adorable it even drew a small smile on Madoka's lips.

The same black she-cat climbed onto the bed to lick her owner's pale cheek and curl up right beside her.

"Ya should 've come with us, food robah." Kyoko scolded the cat, before turning to the shorter girl. "Imma ganna get some moar Grief Seeds. Ya stay here wizh Homu, oky?"

Madoka nodded.

"Good, bbye." The red head waved at her as she walked away. Then, the pinkette heard the door closing, and stared at Homura, her eyes readjusting to the darkness. In truth, she felt really tired, but the thought of that girl turning into a witch was stronger.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, and trying to distract herself, she began to look around. Her eyes then spotted something in the further wall –maybe a mirror?-, that was covered by a blanket.

But then, her wondering of why it was like that was interrupted by a groan, and the shifting of the blankets and mattress underneath her.

She looked at Homura, and saw she was tossing and turning in her sleep, brows furrowed by a nightmare. Did it happen very often?

"Ssshhh…" She attempted to reassure the sleeping girl, fingers reaching to stroke again that long, dark and silky hair. "It's okay, Homura-chan… I'm here." She whispered.

Madoka's voice and contact slowly calmed the other girl. That was right, she was at the edge no longer, it was not a nightmare, the pinkette reminded herself.

But then a lone tear trailed down that pale face: the first tear she had ever seen from that stoic girl. She wiped it, and whispered her reassuring words once more.

"Ma…do…ka…" The magical girl murmured, in a shaky voice.

In the end, Madoka left her sneakers and jacket in a corner, then entered the bed and laid down, hugging the other from behind. "I'm here, Homura-chan… Whatever it is, it's okay, I'm here." She whispered. Strong people like Homura would only cry if things went really bad, she thought, and she wouldn't like her to have nightmares that bad.

Homura had been there for her so many times, so many nights… It was her turn now, to reassure her.

And that was the last thought that lingered in her head, as her eyes closed and her body gave up to tiredness, slowly falling asleep.

.

There was such a peaceful silence, almost lulling, instead of the strident sound of her alarm clock, and yet, there was something waking her up, softer, gentler.

One magenta eye sleepily perked open, to be greeted with the sight of a stoic Homura, dressed in her school uniform, completely recuperated, as if yesterday night had never happened. That girl's hand was softly shaking her awake by her tiny shoulder.

"Homu…ra…chan?" Was the first thing she said, voice muffled by the blankets. Suddenly, she processed where she was, what had last happened, who she had been sleeping with, and her face and ears fully reddened. She immediately sat up.

"Good morning, Madoka." Homura said. If she had known better, Madoka would have maybe noticed she had swallowed hard, before speaking. Fortunately, the pinkette was too flustered to even notice how she was slightly blushing, too.

"H-h-ho-homura-chan! I- uhm, this-…" The former's blush increased as words didn't come out properly.

"It's- fine." The ravenette replied, looking away, and just then, Madoka noticed the pink on her cheeks and the tips of her ears. "I have to carry you home, before your parents notice you haven't been there."

"Huh?" That luckily made the shorter girl forget about her embarrassment, at least, partly. "Ah! Wh-what time is it?"

"Don't worry." Homura reassured her. "It's still soon, and I calculate we can make it there before your alarm clock rings." Then, seeing the other's surprised face, she blinked and spoke again. "I noticed it when I first entered your room, and, knowing the time you take to do things, it's not hard to guess the hour you've programmed for it to sound."

Magenta eyes were cast down, as their owner processed what she had been told. "…Oh."

"Come on." The taller girl said.

"A-ah, give me a moment."

"Alright."

Then, after putting her sneakers back on, and a small trip to the restroom, Madoka followed Homura towards the stairs that led to the roof. Once up there, the coal-haired girl gathered her in her arms, and she encircled hers around the other's neck.

The carrier then walked towards the edge, adopting her magical girl appearance. "Are you ready, Madoka?"

Said girl forced herself not to look down. "I'm ready, Homura-chan."

Both of them enjoyed the comfortable silence, as Homura leaped from building to building, stopping time whenever they were in danger to be noticed, letting it flow again when reaching emptier streets, and it all in a perfect timing: a proof of how methodical that teenager was.

By the time they reached the window of the pink room, the alarm clock sounded, and, after being lowered to the ground, Madoka quickly turned it off.

"Madoka." Lavender eyes were looking away, until she knew she had caught the pinkette's attention. Then, she looked straight into the girl's eyes, for she still had a reputation to maintain. "I do believe you were the one who kept me grounded, yesterday." She said. "Sorry for the inconvenience, though, and the fact that you had to see that. It shouldn't have happened. But I still wanted to thank you."

She didn't know why, but something buried deeply into Homura's expression made her smile softly. "I'm glad I could help you, Homura-chan." She whispered, giving the taller girl a hug, and smiled a bit wider when, after a little while, the other returned it. Now she had seen a bit more of whatever that girl kept behind her mask, and didn't like to see her suffering, but, now that she had finally managed to help a little, she felt a bit less useless than before. "…Plus, you know you can trust me. I'll be there for you, too."

What the hell was she doing? She shouldn't be letting that happen, she shouldn't have let that happen, Madoka should have never seen her as helpless as she had been that night. She was the one supposed to protect her, from witches, from Walpurgis… And she had just been about to turn into one, right in front of her eyes.

But, on the other hand, she couldn't let all that regret consume her, she just couldn't end up falling again, not so quickly. Instead, she chose to let Madoka's closeness reassure her, feeling the warmth of her body, that sweet scent of her strawberry shampoo.

It only lasted for a while, though, until she reluctantly let go. "You should start your daily routine, Madoka. I'll see you at school."

"Al-alright." The pinkette nodded. "See you at school, Homura-chan."

A last glance, and the purple magical girl disappeared. The shorter girl sighed, smiling to herself, and heading towards the door of her room.

.

"Yo." Kyoko greeted her, right in front of the school gates.

"Kyoko." She greeted back. "I didn't expect you to come so soon."

The red-head shrugged. "Whatevah. I got ya dis. Ya keep eet dis time."

Homura caught the two grief seeds the other had thrown in the air, and kept them. "Thank you." She said.

"NP. How's it gone wizh Princess Bubblegum?"

Slightly blushing, the ravenette walked past her and entered the building.

Kyoko smirked, trailing after her. "…I knew eet." She commented, loud enough for the other to hear.

.

Class, and Sayaka was nowhere to be seen.

If Madoka had managed to get calm due to last night's catharsis, now she was a bag of nerves and deep, deep concerns. Deeper, after what she had seen yesterday from Homura, after what she had seen four days ago from Mami.

Her strong imagination could perfectly picture Sayaka in both situations: either growing insane and screaming until she exploded into her own barrier, or else falling to the ground, disabled as a broken porcelain doll, and witnessing her slow yet inevitable destruction.

The fact that, when she had asked Masahiro-Sensei, he had told her she was just sick, didn't make any difference in her mood.

Even though Homura had used that excuse before, she had only done so when she had true reasons, reasons from a veteran like herself, that, and all the secrets she seemed to keep inside her… No, Sayaka didn't get sick often, and, after making a contract, one wasn't supposed to, yet, neither to fall so fast… But then? What was so urgent that had forced the bluenette to skip school?

After not being able to concentrate in class, she hurried to Hitomi, who was packing her things and grabbing her _bentou_. Said greenette was quick to detect Madoka's distress, and even though she kept telling her that everything was fine, the pinkette never seemed convinced, but she could neither tell her about her true worries.

Hitomi was better off as a human, distanced from all those problems.

However, there was one thing Madoka could ask from her bimbo friend: "C-can we go with Homura-chan and Kyoko-chan?"

"Why so, if I may ask?" The greenette politely replied, with a soft blink.

"Y-you know, Kyoko-chan and Sayaka-chan seem to be getting along… And, just maybe, Kyoko-chan knows something about her!" As she spoke, the pinkette fidgeted with the end of her sleeves, as nervous as eager to go there.

"…Very well…" the former sighed, yet decided to oblige to her stubborn, stressed fellow. "…Though, I must say that, in my opinion, Sayaka wouldn't tell them more than what she tells us. She's fine, do believe me."

"Well, you never know 'till you try!" Madoka urged, already hurrying away.

A last sigh, and Hitomi followed her, resigned.

.

What would happen was predictable, and so, there they were, the two magical girls, waiting for the two humans to come, one of them full of questions and worry for the bluenette.

As Kyoko was digging through her enormous pile of food, Homura calmly pressed the keys of the piano, one after another, coordinating her fingers perfectly…

…until the flow of the music was broken by an unexpected question. "How long since we ain't use Catalan, blackberreh?"

The sound of the piano was shut, as its musician turned around to stare at her pseudo-sibling. "As long as we haven't needed to." Was the only reply.

"Rlly?" Kyoko swallowed a whole mouthful, it barely chewed, and took one more bite on her kebab. "'Twas fun, y'know? Tho 'a languageh only we knew. Liek telepathee out loud, even bethah, since humeen won't understand shit."

"…I know." Homura stood up to turn around and sit anew, this time, facing the red-head. "You already said that in three more time lines… Maybe more." She sighed. "Yes, more than funny, it was useful. When we had to use telepathy and other magical girls would still be able to hear our conversations, we'd just have to switch the languages instead. No one in here would take the time to learn a language from such tiny little spot of Europe… Except for the Catalan 'otakus' who come here to work as mangakas. But those, of course, had to learn Japanese, instead."

When she heard the rascal's fake snores, she raised an eyebrow. Kyoko's manners would always be ruined, but if she thought about it twice, they were just as ruined as Homura's sense of humor.

"'Kay, I listen'd." Kyoko snarled, yawning. "Good thingy ya manag'd how tho remind me 'bout yar crazeh loops, otherwise, I wouldn't have trust'd ya at first. And, if I had, I wouldn't have learn'd Cat'lan, for God's sake." Then, she grinned. "Maybe we should practice moar? Sisplau? Era divertiiit…!"

They both heard approaching, hurried steps, at the other side of the door, and also, more relaxed ones. "Not now." The ebony managed to say, before a gentle fist knocked the door.

"Comeeeeeeeeeeenn!~" The red-head grinned.

The two human girls entered:  
The first one to step in was an apprehensive-looking Madoka, who managed to draw a nervous grin. "S-sorry for intruding!" She stuttered.  
And, the second one was a resigned-looking Hitomi, who, after all, managed to be as polite as ever. "Sorry for intruding." She said, with a tiny smile and a small bow.

"Madoka, Shizuki Hitomi." Homura greeted with a nod.

"Yo." Kyoko waved at them.

"So, this is where you've been all these days at break time?" The greenette asked, attempting to start a conversation.

"Yes." The palest of the four replied, dryly enough to make the former shut her mouth and take a seat, sighing a bit.

"Whaddayawant?" Kyoko then asked.

"It's-" Madoka dedicated Homura a quick glance, only to make sure she was as healthy as she had seemed earlier in the morning, and then, proceeded to ask. "Uhm, has… Has Sayaka-chan told you something about… Why she hasn't come to school, Kyoko-chan?"

"Nuh-uh." The addressed girl shook her head. "Imma ganna check mah phone, though." Her voice said, yet, through telepathy, she said something very different, that only Madoka and Homura could hear: "Imma ganna try and detect her."

They all watched as the former stared at the screen of her mobile phone.

"Nope." She then said, after slipping it back inside her bag. "No word." And yet, with her mental voice, she said: "Nope, she ain't wetheen mah range."

Hitomi sighed. "I told you, Madoka, that she'd be fine."

"But-"

"Ah, ran outta food." The red head interrupted the pinkette. "Ima ganna get moar."

And as she stood up, they heard the true message. "Ganna search fo'her, befoar that dumbass do's somethin' she regrets."

Lavender eyes stared at her. "Be careful, you don't want to have an indigestion." Her mental voice sounded as well. "I'll tell the teachers you had an indigestion."

"Me? An indigestion? Yeah, yeah." Kyoko guffawed, placing her hands in the back of her head. "'Kay, bye, Homu. Bye, Candy gurl. Bye, chard." And with that, she left.

Madoka just stared, amazed at how they could speak through two different channels at once, and Hitomi sighed, feeling like a third wheel in the middle of what seemed like the beginning of a lesbian, forbidden relationship.

And yet… The awkwardness she felt brought her to attempt at starting a conversation again. "So… You do play the piano too, I believe."

"I do." The ravenette nodded. "In fact, there was a song I wanted to show Madoka."

The pinkette jumped at hearing her name, and looked at the former with surprised eyes.

"…If she's interested, that is." Homura added, turning around once more to face the grand instrument.

"O-of course I do!" The shorter girl replied, brightening immediately.

It had to be a love song, Hitomi thought. What else would it be? After all, their forbidden relationship had already been insinuated many times. She totally was a third wheel, and it would be really uncomfortable for the three of them to be together, if those two needed privacy for whatever they did, those things she could already picture, want to know, yet never want to see.

Scandalized by those thoughts about homosexuality that she considered so dirty, she immediately stood up to leave.

"Ah- Hitomi-chan! Wait!"

"Shizuki Hitomi, you can stay if you want to."

It took the greenette all her willpower not to run away, and instead, she turned to smile at the two other girls. "I'm sorry, but I have things to do. That girl I sat at the bus with, is very nice and interesting. I'd like to talk with her for a bit, if you don't mind."

"Ah, a-alright, then." Madoka nodded in understanding.

"See you later, then, Madoka-san, Akemi-san." She bowed, and left. Once she closed the door behind her, she leaned heavily against it, dropping all composure. "Peasants and their forbidden love!" She let out.

And though the pinkette had not, Homura's sensible ears and sharp senses had let her hear it. She just sighed, and eyed Madoka from where she was. "Two days ago, you asked me about a song. I'll gladly play it for you."

The ebony's voice was cold, yet gentle, and Madoka's smile grew wider. "Go ahead, Homura-chan." She said, eager to hear that melody, and wishing it was the one she had heard that night.

"…very well." Pale, thin fingers were placed on the keys, and then, the song began.

.

First time line, also known as the original one.

April the third, 2011.

A slender, pale, sick girl, with black, long, twin braids and red spectacles on lavender eyes, was hiding in that room she'd never seen before.

The third day of school, and she had managed to make two friends who had happened to be magical girls and save her from a witch, the friends of the one whom she admired most, however, didn't seem to quite accept her; especially that blue-haired one

And she knew she'd never be as cool as that pinkette, so kind and gentle, smart and brave, selfless and caring, always eager to give everything she had to make things better for everyone.

She, Homura Akemi, carrier of a name her new friend had really liked, was nothing but a piece of frail trash, so worthless… No. She was a handicap; for everyone. Clumsy, slow, depressive, ill…

She cried in silence, because she didn't want the pinkette to waste her time worrying about her, nor to be seen by those classmates that would always judge her.

She wanted to be alone, she deserved to be alone.

After a good cry, she took off her glasses to wipe her eyes with the back of her hand, and once she had put them back and turned the lights on, she discovered where she had been: the music room.

And memories assaulted her, of how, the best days she spent at her pitiful life in the hospital were when they invited musicians to play for those who were sick or wounded.

She really, really loved music, and thought she'd never be able to play.

And yet-

That beautiful, black grand piano forte was right there, apparently calling for her to sit and try it, and so she did.

Carefully, she stroked the keys with trembling hands, and, tentatively, she pressed one.

Such beautiful sound, she thought, it was just like that girl she had met: high-pitched, sweet, warm.

But she didn't know how to play, tough.

Then, a song came to her mind, one that had really managed to comfort her when her heart had ached the most.

'Scarborough Fair', an ancient song sung by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.

And the feeling hit her fast and mercilessly: she wanted to play it.

She spent the rest of that lunch time attempting to play it by ear, and she managed to have the basics of the melody right before the bell rang.

That night, after having done her homework, she searched on the internet, and managed to find a simple arrangement, basic enough for her to learn.

Self-teaching was a slow and hard process, but, if she practiced every day, maybe she'd be able to have it ready by the end of the month.

And she really, really wanted to play it… For Madoka.

April the twenty-seventh, and she finally dared to tell her.

"K-kaname-san…"

"Hm? What is it, Homura-chan?"

"U-uhm, well… I-I've been p-practicing, uh… It's… I-I have a surprise for you. A-after Walpurgisnacht- there- uh… I… W-w-want to p-p… play… s-something f-for you?"

"Really? Homura-chan, that makes me very happy! I'll gladly listen to it, after we defeat Walpurgisnacht!"

But-

April the thirtieth, and Madoka laid dead at her feet.

Second time line, and, two weeks after she had met the pinkette, she finally dared to say it again.

"K-kaname-san, I- … I want to sh-show you something."

"What's it, Homura-chan?"

"It's- I've been l-learning m-my first song on the p-piano… By m-m-myself."

Indeed, her first song, very, very simple, but Madoka had loved it. She even gave her a bone-crushing hug, like a few days ago, when she had killed her first witch.

But ever since that day on such distant time line, she had kept practicing. She ended up adding more notes to the song, completing the sheet music 'till it seemed professional.

And after that, through countless attempts at saving Madoka, she kept learning more and more songs, until playing the piano became as easy and natural as to breathe.

But it had been more than thirty time lines ago that she had forgotten about it. There were more important things to do in order to keep her promise, the piano was secondary, and it had become something for herself, only.

Because of that, now that she was playing again for the pinkette, she felt a sudden wave of nostalgia.

She kept the tears inside, trying to let her bottled emotions flow through the music instead.

.

She was a hero, a true hero. Weightlessly leaping through the air, she stabbed and slashed with her sword, killing every meaning of despair. She regretted nothing, not even having skipped a day of school to train herself, before starting to make daily patrols every afternoon.

She couldn't even remember the pain she had been dealing with the past few days, the grin was permanent and natural on her face.

If only she could find more heroes like her… Kyubey had mentioned two more magical girls on Mitakihara, but had told her they were different, that they hunted only to get Grief Seeds and increment their power, letting the familiars go to hurt civilians, before they hatched into witches as well.

So hateful, she thought. Why would someone be so unkind?

But, she shook her head. She couldn't distract herself now that she was about to finish another enemy, and, nothing would stop her from being all optimistic.

"Alright, ya witch!" Sayaka exclaimed, running closer to attack. "Time to teach you a good lesson!"

But, suddenly, a stray minion she hadn't seen hit the sword away from her hand.

"Woah!" The girl stumbled: that attack had been unpredictable, and before she could summon a new sword, there was something dark flying against her.

.

"Homura-chan, it's so beautiful!" Madoka complimented, clapping her hands lightly when the song had finished.

The player didn't turn around, in order to hide that deep blush in her originally pale cheeks. "…I'm glad you liked it." She managed to say, keeping her voice from cracking.

"But… Y-you did tell me you were going to sing it?" The former then asked, tilting her head a little.

"…Maybe another day."

A bit worried that Homura wasn't turning around, and not noticing how red the tips of her ears were, Madoka stood up and tentatively walked towards the other girl, who stood frozen in place.

After taking a good look at her face, she couldn't help but to smile at this new side of the ravenette she had seen scarce hints of when they had been together in the bus. To her, it was so adorable that she couldn't help but to hug her.

"I really love how you play the piano." She gently whispered.

"Th-thanks." Homura replied, trying her best to keep her mask from cracking even further.

And, somehow, the weight inside Madoka's chest now seemed a little lighter…

Until, suddenly, she remembered her pitiful confession at night. Immediately, she let go and stepped backwards. "U-uhm, Homura-chan?"

"…Yes?" She had nothing to lose now, her reputation was already ruined, so, even though her cheeks were still lightly flushed, she turned her head around a little to stare at the other girl.

"A-about last night…" The pinkette murmured. "D-do you remember anything?"

Sucking in a deep breath before sighing, Homura then turned her full body around to face Madoka. "Honestly, the last thing I remember is telling you about Miki Sayaka's contract." She admitted, mask back on. "Everything that happened next is blurry, or, simply gone." For all she had been able to pay attention to was her own paranoia, until it had turned black as well.

Madoka tried her best not to sigh in relief, but jumped when the other began to talk again.

"However…" She said, pretending she hadn't noticed the sorter girl's reaction –she was used to it now-, "Kyoko informed me that you had been with me, stopping me from completely falling. That's why I thanked you this morning. And I actually do remember hearing your voice. But that's all I can recall."

A soft smile bloomed again in her mouth. "It's okay, Homura-chan." Madoka replied. "N-nothing really happened. I-I just told you to stay with me, th-that's all."

Looking away, the ebony slowly nodded. "I see…" She whispered, trying to remember.

Madoka repressed a new sigh of relief. She had a new opportunity to confess her feelings, and now that she had said them out loud last night, she was completely sure: for unknown reasons, she loved Homura, and felt oddly familiar around her.

Though… Would the other girl feel the same? Would she acknowledge her own feelings?

Somehow, though, Madoka had the strange sensation that she was forgetting about something.

.

Azure eyes opened to the sharp sound of metal, only to see a spear between the two pieces of what once had been a black, tiny lion-shaped minion.

"Brat!" A familiar voice scolded. "Ya ganna get yarself kill'd if ya act so carelessly!"

Sayaka looked up, and widened her eyes at the sight of the other magical girl. "Im…possible…" She mumbled.

"Shuddup and see how true magical gurls fight." Right after she had spoken, Kyoko ran, swift movements slashing every single minion that dared to approach her, as she dodged the attacks the witch, Suleika, was beginning to throw at her. In fact, she was running around said witch, slowly approaching her.

As the last minion lunged against her, she used it as a platform to jump, and shoved her spear against the enormous enemy. The witch died, and she landed on top of her weapon, as the barrier faded.

Standing up, Sayaka kept staring at her, in awe and surprise. She had never expected her to be one of those 'other magical girls', but she was too good, and had ended that witch very easily.

"Hope ya learn'd somethin' from dis." Kyoko said, jumping down before making her spear and her magical uniform disappear. She took her box of pocky from her pocket, and stuffed one into her mouth before offering another to the bluenette. "From now on, ya'll call me 'Senpai'."

.

"…So, you and the goth, are veterans at this?"

"Yup. And dun't call 'er that. She's yar senior now. She has much moar experience than ya at this, hell, even moar than me."

Sayaka leaned backwards against the bench where the two of them sat. "Well, you call her whatever you want, whenever you want."

"Wight." Kyoko replied, chewing a whole mouthful of cookies, before swallowing. "'Cause we trust each othah. But ya're just a novice, and yar experience is zero. So ya do what we say if ya wanna live."

"…Like if I was gonna get killed, or something." The former grumbled, staring at the park right in front of them, currently empty since the children would most likely be at school.

"Well." The red head cut herself off to munch into another cookie, before replying. "Ya saw today that it ain't hard tho. Ya can't fight by yarself, yet. Ya have tho learn first."

"And how did you learn?" The tomboy asked, now turning to look at her.

"Well, I haz a senior too." Kyoko explained, as she ate non-stop. "She toht me a lot, but den… Bad times came, and they toht me moar than anyone. O'course, we had it rough, but, ya can either let dat consume ya, or become strong liek me and survive, no mattah tha price." Her grin then turned bitter, as if in a mix of irony and a bit of sadness. "Mah senior had it rough too. She didn't learn, howevah, and died three days ago."

"What?! How?" Sayaka's sea blue eyes were widened once more.

"Hm…" She licked her lips, the usual fanged grin back on her face. "Say, what has QB told ya?"

"About what?" A blue eyebrow raised.

"'Bout witches, contracts, Sool Gims."

"I've only taught her the basics, of course, as I did with all of you when you began." That high-pitched, telepathic voice was the only warning, before they saw the annoying, white creature coming from wherever.

"Yo, Kyubey." Sayaka greeted, with a smile.

"Tsk." To the blue magical girl's surprise, Kyoko wasn't grinning anymore. Instead, she was glaring at the Incubator, as if she were to slaughter him in any moment.

"Miki Sayaka, Sakura Kyoko." He greeted, motionless, unblinking, always grinning. "I expected a better welcome."

"What's wrong with ya?" Sayaka asked, looking at the red magical girl with surprise. "Kyoko-Senpai?"

The fact that the other had obliged to call her that made Kyoko grin again. "Imma ganna show ya somethin', novice." She said. Then, as she suddenly summoned her Soul gem, the spear poked out from it and decapitated Kyubey.

"WTF?!" Sayaka jumped off her seat as soon as that happened. "How could you?!"

"Just wait an' see, novice."

And in a few seconds, Kyubey was back there, with a new body. "Seriously, girls…" He said, causing the bluenette to gasp. "I have countless replacements, but destroying one for no reason is such a waste…" And then, he bowed his head to eat the white mass that had once been his body.

"What…? How…?" Sayaka was out of words.

"Men, ya're gross, yo. I luv eatin', but that's just… Bruh."

Kyubey swallowed disgustingly, and made a tiny little burp. "I don't see the problem. It means more energy to this new body, so…"

"Shuddup. I ain't ast ya 'bout dat." The red head stuck her tongue out, before stuffing another handful of cookies into her mouth to forget the imaginary flavor the Incubator's actions had caused her to picture. However, as soon as the sensation of chocolate washed on her tongue, she seemed to calm a little. "Anyways." She said, after swallowing. "Ya havn't told yar new contractee 'bout somethin' she deserves tho know."

"Huh?" Sayaka looked at her new senior, confused.

"Hm?" The Incubator tilted his head, flapping his ears a little. "I've only answered her questions, told her what she wanted to know."

That movement had made Kyoko sick to the stomach, and she grabbed him by one of his ears, gritting her teeth with rage as they cringed. "Ya told 'er wha' she want'd tho know, o' course. Wha' ya have yet to tell 'er is somethin' no one wanna know, but she needs tho."

He sighed. "Very well. Say, Sakura Kyoko, what do you want me to tell her?"

As the red head opened her mouth to speak, a memory hit her. ' _We are like zombies._ ' ' _I'm such an idiot._ ' Right, Sayaka wasn't ready to know yet, and she assumed she'll have to be the one to prepare her, but for now…

"That ya're an asshole!" She exclaimed, shoving the white alien to the floor. "Leave, NOW."

"I don't get it, Sakura Kyoko. What-?"

"I told ya, go 'way befoar I waste moar of yar fraggin' bodies." This time, the veteran sounded cold as steel and ice, just like her sister. Sayaka didn't know why, but that sent chills through her spine.

Kyubey sighed, and bowed his head. "…Very well." And finally, he disappeared under some bushes.

"Kyoko-Senpai, what's wrong now?"

To the bluenette's surprise, the red head had a resigned grin. "Forget 'bout eet." She replied. "C'mon, we have betthah things tho do."

"But- hey!" Sayaka was now frowning. "I deserve an explanation, don't you think so? Kyubey grants us wishes in exchange of a responsibility we are supposed to accept, right? So, if you accepted it, why do you hate him so much?"

The veteran sighed. "When ya wish sometheen fo' someone else, it can go berseark. He nevah told us dat, did he?" Then, she almost heard how the other swallowed saliva, and held out a hand. "Easy, gurl. Yar prince's ganna be fine. Ya want'd to help heem? Ya did eet. Now be careful 'bout whattya do next. If ya follow mah advice, things'll go cool."

"…Alright." The bluenette decided to oblige, yet made a mental note to ask more later.

Maybe, it would be easier to instruct Sayaka than in other time lines, since she had never been under Mami's influence, and the only reference she had now was Kyoko, and maybe Homura too, if things cooled down between them, which was most likely the hardest part of it all.

.

A few more witch hunts, and Kyoko began to lead her through more familiar streets.

"Where are we going now?" She asked, absently eating the last stick of pocky she had been handed.

"We ganna meet up witzh da rest."

The bluenette brought her hands to cover her face. "...Now that I think about it, I finally understand why the two of you are always so weird…"

The veteran grinned, and threw one of her arms around her junior's shoulders to rub her head with her knuckles. "Welcome to da pack!"

"Agaaaah, stop it!" Sayaka whirled free from Kyoko's grasp, hurrying to fix her hair as she swallowed the now-completely broken treat inside her mouth. Luckily, she had managed to save it with her teeth before it fell. After all, she knew much, much better than to drop food in front of the other, even more now that she was her _Kouhai_. "Idiot…" She managed to mutter under her breath as her _Senpai_ cackled louder and louder.

.

As the class started to leave the school, the three of them were the first ones to emerge from the gates: Madoka, who was going to go out with Hitomi, as usual, when Homura had told her using telepathy that the other two were waiting for them outside, and then, the pinkette had dragged the other two along.

"Yo, Mado- hmpf!" Sayaka hadn't even finished her greeting, but the other girl was already throwing herself to hug her.

"Sayaka-chan, I'm so glad you are okay!"

"O-of course I'm okay, Madoka!" The other grinned, returning the hug.

"I already told you." Hitomi sighed, in half-dissimulated exasperation. Then, she politely bowed. "I hope the two of you are already feeling better, Sayaka-san, Kyoko-san."

"We cool." The red head said, giving a thumbsup as three pockies emerged from her chocolate-stained lips.

"Ah, I'm so glad." The greenette closed her emerald eyes to give a gentle smile. "I'd like to stay longer, but sadly, I have to go home quickly to prepare for my piano lessons."

"Aaah, the busy life of a high-classed lady, huh? Never expected less from you, Hitomi!" Sayaka replied, as she let go of Madoka. "Alright, we'll Whatsapp, or somethin'."

"Bbye, chardie." Kyoko waved.

"Shizuki Hitomi." Homura gave a small nod.

"Bye, Hitomi-chan!"

Once the bimbo was out of sight, the bluenette attempted to start an idle conversation, expecting the pinkette to leave soon. "Well, have I missed something important in class, or was the teacher talking about eggs and boys again?"

"Sayaka-chan…" The horrified expression in Madoka's face made her stomach drop. "Why… Would you do something like that? Wh-why would you risk your life like that?"

"Madoka? Wait- did you know about-?"

"Yes…" Magenta eyes cast to the floor. "Th-the same day they transferred to our school, I was captured by a witch..." Then, they lifted again to give a sad smile to the ebony. "B-but Homura-chan saved me. Th-the very next day, she explained everything to me."

"But- Why-" The bluenette's eyes were as open as her mouth. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

The pinkette stared at her, her eyes starting to fill with tears. "W-would you have believed me, Sayaka-chan?" The answer never came, and the same magenta eyes were cast back to the ground. "B-besides… I-I was scared, you know? And… You d-didn't tell me about your contract, either."

Sayaka scratched the back of her head, but then, lifted her chin a little. "Would you have believed me, Madoka?"

"O-of course I would!" The pinkette frowned back, but then tried to blink back the tears. "I-I don't want you to turn into-"

A loud clap of hands, and a flash of red as Kyoko seemed to trap something with them, killing it. "Aaaah, stupid mosquitos." She cursed, and Homura took a profit of that to stop time and put a hand in Madoka's shoulder.

"Madoka. Miki Sayaka mustn't know about where the witches truly come from… yet."

"Wh-why not?"

"She's still unprepared to receive such information."

Time clicked, Homura was back in her school uniform and the red head was rubbing her hand against the wall. The pinkette stood there, frozen in place.

"Hey, Madoka?"

The shorter girl hugged her childhood friend again. "Sayaka-chan…" She sniffled.

"Yo, pinko, listen up." Kyoko snarled. "She ain't ganna die."

"Yeah… I won't die. I'm a hero, remember?" Immediately, the bluenette returned the hug.

Homura looked away: Madoka was crying… Again.

.

"Hey…"Both Sayaka and Madoka had left home, and now, there were only the two veterans left. "Ya know, sissy? I'm glad ya found out how tho make me remembah… Ya know, 'bout yar TLs, and da loop, and da yadda yadda yadda."

"…Yeah." The ravenette nodded ever so slightly, her eyes still focused somewhere in the distance. "Accidents tend to end up awfully… But the way I discovered I could do that, was just a lucky miscalculation."

"Well, not everytheen has to suck, dos eet?" Kyoko stuffed a doughnut inside her mouth just as she finished speaking.

Before the former could answer, though, she felt the vibration of her phone in her pocket, and slipped it open just to see the new Whatsapp message she had just received.

When Kyoko was about to look away, there was suddenly a bright flash close to her face that caught her by surprise, as her sister showed her the screen of her phone. "I think this concerns you too."

"What the-?"

'Sorry I forgot to tell you earlier!' Kyoko didn't even need to see who had sent it, that adorable profile picture already said everything: It was Madoka's message. 'My mom asked me if you two wanted to have a sleepover at my house this weekend, since she wants to get to know you two better!'

"Whatta actual fuck?!" She pushed the phone away as she tried to process what she had just read.

"Kaname Junko is a very unpredictable woman." Homura explained. "Not even after so many timelines have I managed to understand how she thinks… Although, it's the first time she invites you over as well."

"What?! Why?! How?!" The red head shook her head. "What even?!"

"…Yeah." The ebony sighed. "I understand… But, what are we going to do, then? What are you going to do?"

"Dunno." The former shrugged. "I'll pass. Dat's not fo' me."

"Not even with Kaname Tomoisha's food? He'll give you as much as you want to."

Just remembering what a good cook Madoka's father was, made the rascal begin to drool. Then, she shook her head. "Wait- Are ya tryeen' tho convince me?!"

Again, Homura sighed. "More like… I'm trying to find excuses not to go there. Figured your stubbornness would help…"

Kyoko's face was a poem.

"In the first time lines, whenever that happened…" Another sigh. "…I just couldn't say 'no', to that businesswoman I'll never properly handle, 'no', to that girl I just desperately wanted to protect and spend more time with." Then, she looked up. "…After that Time Line when I had to kill Madoka with my own hands, after promising her I wouldn't let her become a magical girl, I began to try and avoid those situations. But sooner or later, one way or another, I just couldn't help it, and it would always end up happening."

The red head closed her eyes, searching for those memories. Night patrols, either alone, with Sayaka or Mami, or else with the two of them, when Homura couldn't join because of a certain scary woman that would keep her kidnapped for a night. She grinned to herself: that submissive side her sister had would never fully disappear. Why the businesswoman Junko was could still awaken it was a mystery, maybe even to the ebony herself.

"Also…" The former added. "If we refuse now, that won't free us at all…" She rested her forehead into one of her hands. "Kaname Junko is too stubborn. She'll keep trying until she gets what she wants to. That woman is an expert at manipulating situations."

"…Heh. Guess ya've seen plenty of that." Kyoko gave a fanged grin.

"Believe me, I've tried everything…" Homura's tone of voice showed everything: she was not lying. The more she tried to stay away from spending time with Madoka's family, the closer she was dragged to them. Once, they had even told her to come live with them, but she had managed to politely convince Junko that it wasn't necessary, that she was fine by herself, and used to it. And yet, they had her coming to visit more often, and, if Walpurgisnacht hadn't arrived, Madoka's mother would have probably ended up getting what she wanted.

In other luckier time lines, however, chance was by her side, and she had managed to dodge those situations.

"Ya know?" The red head lifted her chin. "Da closah ya're to Pinko, da bettah ya'll protect 'er. She trusts ya now, so ya need to have 'er Pa and Ma tho like ya." Then, her grin turned into the widest smirk. "I'll accept, but onleh fo' dinnah. Aftah all, I have a couple o' stuff to show dis stupeed novice, before she gets into trouble. Den, I'll leave ya 'nd Princess Bubblegum 'lone to do Yuri, but first, free chow is free chow."

Homura immediately looked away, hiding her enormous blush. "Let's just- head home already."

The former cackled, slapping her knee in the process.

"We'll eat something before we patrol, and then, once it's dark, I'll give Madoka the answer."

Kyoko then closed her mouth shut, feeling how her stomach grumbled at the thought of food, and immediately grabbed her pseudo-sibling by her wrist and almost dragged her along. "Whatta' we waiteen' fo', then?"

.

"Damn, I still dunno how dis works." The red head growled, frenetically fiddling with her red mobile phone, running her fingers across the screen hard enough to almost draw fissures on it.

"You'll learn." She heard Homura's voice, slightly muffled due to the distance. "Just keep practicing, but try not to break it by simply typing a message."

"…Huh." Kyoko now realized how the screen was blinking in strange colors due to the pressure of her fingers, and relaxed her grip. She sucked in a deep breath, and looked up at the swinging pendulum, always moving, calmly, never losing its regular rhythm. "Ya nevah get tired, huh?" She asked, with slight envy for such a stable object, before staring back at the small screen.

Just then, the ravenette emerged from her room, already dressed as a magical girl. "Do you need any help?"

"Nah, I can handle eet." The former began to type again, softer this time. "Eet's just dat I aim for a button, but da retarded machine chooses anothah one."

"…Yeah. That's the problem of digital keyboards." Homura sighed.

"Well, eet's done." The red head proudly declared, as she sent the message. "I told CC tho join us at 00:00. She says dat if her parents see her leaving, she's ganna be sentenced, so it ain't be soonah."

"Alright, then." A nod, and the ebony was already moving for the door. "I'm leaving." She said. "You should go hunt, and I'll join you as soon as I can."

"'Kay."

A click as it opened, another one as it softly closed, and the whole house fell to silence, only filled by the continuous sound of the pendulum.

Kyoko slipped her phone back into her pocket, and then headed for the kitchen: She wouldn't mind having a small snack before patrolling for witches.

.

"Are you feeling better?"

The sudden voice made Madoka jump in the mattress. "H-homura chan?"

Said girl knelt beside the bed. "Are you feeling better?" She repeated.

"Ah." The pinkette realized she hadn't answered before, and nodded as she sat up. "Y-yes, thank you, Homura-chan. S-sorry if I worried you."

"It's okay." Surprisingly, the reply came along with another comment. "Now, about what you asked us via Whatsapp, I couldn't answer before, so I will now." A small silence, before she continued. "We've been weighing our priorities as magical girls and students, but, we've decided that we can scratch a bit of time for coming here."

The shorter girl felt herself brightening. "R-really?" She asked, with glittering eyes.

Lavender flicked to her, before Homura nodded. "Yes. I don't mind spending one night with you." And at this, both girls were glad the dim moonlight wouldn't allow the other to see how they were blushing, oblivious to the fact that the other's cheeks were just as pink.

"…However." Homura continued. "Kyoko will just stay for dinner. She couldn't say 'no' to Kaname Tomoisha's cooking, but she has to instruct Miki Sayaka."

The fact that her childhood friend was now a magical girl struck her away like a wave, and that lump on her throat reappeared. "Y-yeah…" The pinkette murmured.

"Do not worry, Madoka." Homura reassured, putting a hand on the other's smaller shoulder. "Miki Sayaka is going to be fine. Kyoko and I have lasted more than many other magical girls, and we can do the same with her."

When the other's stare finally met hers, she lowered her voice to a mere whisper. "You do trust me, right, Madoka?"

The latter nodded, and she put her hand away. "I was also going to tell you that we'd be patrolling in the afternoon, as well. You can join us, if you'd like to. Then, we can come here."

The pinkette nodded again, this time brightening a little: Homura was acknowledging her, trusting her to join them, even when she was just a powerless human. "Y-yes, of course I will join you girls, Homura-chan." She said, smiling a little.

The ebony nodded. "Alright." She said. "…In that case, good night, Madoka."

"Goodnight, Homura-chan."

The pinkette laid down again, and this time, she fell asleep, almost immediately.

Just as she did, the taller girl stood up, and then left her alone in that pink room of hers.


End file.
